Nowhere to Go, Noone to Help, Nothing to Lose!
by Darien Fawkes
Summary: As the Armada arrives, the Rangers find themselves with no Zords, and Gosei missing. They are short on allies and power as their deadliest enemies arrive...where do they turn when THEY are the ones on the run?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Here's the promised filler piece, bridging the gap until the new season starts. Hope you all enjoy it.

**Legal:** I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, places, events etc. Anything not covered by these rights should be presumed to be purely the creation of the author.

**Rating:** T – May be some mild adult themes and language.

A flotilla of ships moved slowly through space, ominously heading towards their target, a little, unassuming planet.

They started to circle it, slowing down to manoeuvring speed a little over the planet's outer atmosphere. They started to glide around the planet's gravitational pull like vultures, slowly circling a lost animal, staggering through the desert just looking for a place to finally give up its life.

On the bridge of the flagship, the presiding officer inspected the viewing screen, observing the planet below.

"All our ships are in position." One of the droids at the controls declared. "What do we do now sir?"

"We wait." He responded. "Until we get our orders."

It was a cold, slightly overcast morning in Harwood County as befitted the time of year. A young man made his way through the streets. The streets were largely deserted now, the Holiday season now over, and people getting back to work after the New Year. He was a young man, and he was doing his best to make sure that he wasn't seen as he headed to a news stand. He was around six feet in height, with an athletic build, concealed beneath a leather jacket, with a black hoodie top underneath. He had the hood pulled up, and walked with his head a little bowed, like he didn't want to be seen.

"What'll it be?" The man at the counter said. The stranger picked up a local paper, and put the exact change, mostly in dimes and pennies into his hand. It took the vendor a little while to verify that he had given the correct amount, and he turned into the back, putting the money into the register while muttering something under his breath about being paid in such a way.

The front page of the paper was dedicated to some kind of dealing going through City Hall. It had been almost two whole months since the final battle had been fought, and the city for the most part was in the process of rebuilding. The roads and rail links were back up; meaning support from neighbouring cities had allowed the rebuilding of all the homes and offices that were lost to be rebuilt much more quickly. There was, as usual, an advert in the bottom corner of the page advertising cash rewards for pictures of the Megaforce Rangers, and any information about them.

The Rangers had fled the city, disappearing shortly after the battle, just as the first of the newspapers published their identities, forcing them to flee before the paparazzi could hound them day and night for any kind of story. This was the part that stung the most. For a couple of weeks, almost a full month, the papers had constantly tailed the families and friends of the Rangers, hoping someone would speak about them. When they finally realised that the Rangers were gone, and that their loved ones either weren't talking, or genuinely didn't know anything, they stopped dedicating the whole front page to any rumour or ridiculous tale that some stranger with little credibility had made up on the fly, they started to veer back into real news. They were still hopeful though, and still advertised.

The kid turned the newspaper over to the sports pages, folding it in half to read the bottom of the page, the High School soccer listings. Jake sighed as he saw the listings, showing Harwood High to be dead bottom of the league. It was just another thing that had suffered because of the Rangers' identities being revealed and their sudden departure. As soon as other schools found out Harwood had two Rangers on the team, accusations that they must have been using their powers to gain an unfair advantage and calling for them to be disqualified from the league. Of course, neither Jordan nor Jake had used their powers on the pitch, but that didn't stop the stories, and no one was willing to believe otherwise when it came to toppling one of the league powerhouses. In the end, the only way Harwood was allowed to continue in the league and not be kicked out was to be stripped of all the points they had earned. This, combined with losing their leading midfielder and striker had a disastrous effect from which they had never recovered.

"Damn it." Jake muttered, seeing this result. He hated their new lives. They couldn't dare to return home, he hadn't even been able to go home to make amends with his parents for the blazing row they'd had in the middle of the street when he told them why he had to leave and would likely never return. He hadn't seen or heard from Allison, the girlfriend he had only just started dating since before the battle. Now, he only dared come into the city under heavy disguise. He had started long before they realised there were certain things the island just couldn't provide, just in the hopes of catching little glimpses of those they left behind, to satisfy himself that they were able to carry on without them. It was painful, but necessary for him, like rubbing alcohol on an open wound.

He headed into an alley, tossing the paper into a trash can, before looking around to make sure he wasn't being watched. He checked behind a dumpster, the one marked "Ernie's Brainfreeze", and found a package left there for him. Ernie had caught him on one of his little excursions into the city, and had since agreed to help where he could, leaving them money, and care packages of clothes and food they couldn't get on the island every couple of weeks.

He picked up the package and started to head somewhere he could teleport back to the island, when he saw some people gathered around an electrical appliance shop. He was about to just head on past when he heard some murmuring among the people watching. He didn't catch everything, but one phrase seemed to crop up over and over again...space ships.

He pushed his way to the front of the crowd to see. The thought of any more space ships was a terrifying thought for anyone in Harwood, but particularly so for him and the Rangers. They all remembered Vrak and The Messenger giving ominous warnings about a force called "The Armada." They knew that something was coming, a new enemy they were spending every day waiting for on the island. He saw some blurry images, following which the view moved to something else. It was a room with the Presidential Seal in the background. After a moment, and some music playing, he came into the room, President Elect Zack Taylor.

He stood, cradling the edges of his podium with his hands, his nine fingers gripping it in a soft embrace, like he was comforting a child. In truth, he was, he was trying to calm a nation of children, those he had been sworn to protect and guide.

"My fellow Americans, I, like all of you, have heard a great many things about the images captured from the International Space Station." He began. "I must, however, ask at this time for caution and restraint. It is all too easy to allow panic to guide us in these uncertain times."

He looked out over the crowd before him.

"I have cancelled my family's vacation, and I have recalled all my Chiefs of Staff to the White House to advise me in these times." He continued as he took a deep breath. "While we have had bad experiences with visitors from another world in the recent past, I must remind you that not all those who come to our lands have sought conflict. Until we know more about the intentions of these visitors, I must ask that you all allow us the time and the chance to find out what they are here for, and see if there is a way for us to pass each other in peace. I thank you."

As he left the stage, Jake just turned and headed back towards his safe teleport point, his morpher bleeping. He pulled it out.

"Jake..."

"I heard Troy." Jake assured him. "I'm coming."

Back at the White House, Zack politely declined questions as he made his way out of the room. Jason, the head of the Secret Service division assigned to his security, ushered him into the Oval Office.

"Call me when the Chiefs of Staff arrive." Zack told his secretary. "I don't want to take any other calls until they arrive, do you understand?"

"Of course Mr President." She answered as he closed the door, turning to Jason.

"You know no one's going to be calm for long." Jason told him.

"I know." Zack sighed. "But if you think things are looking bad now, try adding 300 million panicking citizens nearly half of whom are armed into the mix."

"It's time." They heard a voice from the corner say. They both turned to see the Phantom Ranger shimmering into view, deactivating his cloaking device.

"I was wondering when you'd show up Phantom Ranger." Zack commented.

"I go by Gosei now." He informed them. "It's The Armada, they should be here within the next 24 hours."

"Then we have to get the signal out." Zack answered. "Jason, call around..."

"I'm afraid that this time it won't be enough." Gosei answered him.

"Are you kidding?" Jason asked him, producing his morpher. "There are dozens of us who still have powers. We'll all be willing to..."

"Believe me, this is not the scenario I was hoping for." Gosei told them. "I have a plan in mind, one that will give the Earth the power it needs to defend itself, but that can only happen if you all do as I say...EXACTLY as I say."

"Anything for the Earth." Jason informed him. "So what do you want us to do?"

Back on the Island, Jake arrived, finding the others assembling in the main chamber. They had cleaned up somewhat, and Noah had repaired as much of the computer equipment as he could. Tensou, before he was destroyed, had taught Noah a lot about technology that was beyond what he would have been able to accomplish in Harwood, but it was no substitute for having Gosei or Tensou around. Tensou was destroyed, and Gosei hadn't returned since the Command Centre had been attacked. They gathered around the computers.

"This looks like it guys." Noah told them. "I just pulled this up from Hubble."

He showed them images of the ships coming towards Earth. There were a lot of them. How many wasn't clear, any time it looked like they'd seen the end of the fleet, more of them came into view.

"That...that's a lot of ships!" Gia commented. Jake pulled off the leather jacket, handing it to Troy as he put the care package aside.

"I'm guessing that fancy one with the gold horse things is the flagship." Noah stated. They all just looked at him. "What? It's bigger and fancier than the others."

"You can't argue with that logic." Emma answered with a shrug.

"So how long until they get here?" Troy asked. Noah just looked a little uneasy.

"At their current speed...about 24 hours." He informed them.

"God I miss the Zords." Jake grumbled. "President Taylor was advocating sitting on our butts and waiting for them to make the first move."

"He's got a job to do; you can't judge him for that." Troy reminded him. "In the meantime, we've got a job to do as well. Noah, have the scans keep track on those ships, especially that fancy one with the horses. I want to know when they come down and where."

"Already on it." Noah assured him.

"Until then, let's get some training done." Troy told them. "By the looks of that fleet, they're not coming for a pleasure cruise."

The following day, on one of The Armada ships, a creature made his way through the corridors, heading for the bridge. He was a tall, slender creature, with dark blue flesh. It wore a blue and white great coat that moved seemingly with a mind of its own as he walked. He had strong, angular features that were accentuated by dark, red eyes, and long, white hair and a goatee. As he got so the Bridge, he saw one of the viewing screens was blanked out, but he heard a familiar voice.

"Commodore! I do not appreciate being kept waiting!" The voice on the other end snapped. "And why can I not see you?"

"I am afraid one of the many signals bouncing around the satellites here is making video communication problematic." He informed his superior. "Their crude communications play havoc with our systems, but at least I can hear you."

"I have heard no word from our Envoy." The superior stated. "Our scans find no trace of him."

"I am afraid I have found the same." He informed his superior. "I did a look through some of their news archives...it appears he failed to destroy those 'Power Rangers' that he spoke of."

"Someone managed to destroy my messenger?" He asked. The Commodore just nodded.

"It certainly appears that way." He told him matter-of-factly. "Don't worry; I'm sure we will be able to exact appropriate reparations for this insult."

"That is a secondary concern." The other voice stated. "I will keep the flagship in orbit for now. I am entrusting the invasion to you."

"I will take great honour in this position." He told him, bowing reverently. "The ships are already in position. I will begin planet fall within the next couple of hours."

Back at the Island, Emma and Troy were woken up by the alarm sounding, hurriedly getting some clothes on as they rushed out to the control room. They saw Noah observing the screen.

"They've broken the atmosphere." Noah told them. "The flagship seems to be holding its distance though."

"What about the others?" Jake asked.

"They're coming down fast." Noah told them. "They have a good tactical formation. It's only a matter of time before..."

Just before he said it, lasers started raining down from the ships. Troy shook his head.

"God I hate it when you're right." Troy stated. "OK, we haven't heard anything from Gosei or any of the others, so we have to presume we're on our own. There aren't enough of us to deal with a planet wide invasion...let's concentrate on this ship coming down."

"The one heading for the White House?" Jake asked.

"Look, the flagship's hovering over that location!" Troy told him. "We have to presume that whatever they're sending to Washington is important."

"Go Go Megaforce!" They called out together as they disappeared in a flash of light.

The Rangers arrived to find the place in turmoil. There were troops on site, ready to guard the President, but they were woefully outmatched, and were quickly overpowered. The Commodore walked through the battle, a sabre at his side, but made no move to draw it. It was like he thought the idea of combat was totally beneath him, and left the dirty work to his army, black robots with silver heads and rifles that brought down all the resistance before them with brutal efficiency. He satisfied himself that the resistance was crushed, and stood before the presidential home with a satisfied smile on his face.

"You!" He called out, seeing some news crews that had been herded into a corner by his robots. "How soon can you get those cameras up and running?"

"It...It'll take a few minutes..."

"Good, we need to get a message out." The Commodore informed them. He then looked to one of the other robots. "Get the one they call 'the President'. We need him to make a little declaration to the people."

"That's not going to happen!" Troy called out as the Rangers got there in Ultra Mode. The Commodore turned to see them, and smiled.

"Well, I guess you're these 'Power Rangers' I keep hearing so much about." He stated. He pointed to the Red Ranger. "Troy isn't it?"

"You know us?" Troy asked him. He just smiled.

"I like to make sure I know as much as I can about my enemies." He informed them. "I'll give you this one chance to lay down your weapons and surrender with your lives."

"Are you really so scared of five teenagers?" Troy asked him. He just shrugged.

"I kind of like the look of this planet." He informed them. "I'd rather leave as much of it intact as possible. There's no point in capturing a ship you've already scuttled."

"Well, we don't really do the whole surrender thing." Jake told him.

"Well, don't say I didn't offer." The Commodore replied. "Let me introduce you to my X-bots. I think you'll find they are a little tougher than those Loogies you were used to fighting."

As the X-bots fell upon the Rangers, The Commodore just smiled. He pulled out a communicator as he drew his sabre.

"They're here." He informed his superior. "Now's the time."

On the edges of the galaxy, the ships circling the distant planet finally received their order and opened fire with an immense barrage of weapons. They slammed into the surface of the planet of Eltar, shattering the tectonic plates of the once-proud planet. As the final salvo fell, the planet exploded, scattering into billions of pieces.


	2. The New Regiem Begins

On the grounds of the White House, the Rangers fought a furious battle against the X-bots, while The Commodore took on Troy. The new henchmen were indeed tougher than the Loogies they had been used to fighting, but nothing that the Rangers couldn't handle.

Thanks to their time fighting Metal Alice and her robots, the Rangers had learned that there were advantages and disadvantages to fighting mechanical opponents. The disadvantages were that they had no pain receptors, meaning anything short of a crippling strike didn't halt their advance. Superficial wounds that would stagger or cause a living opponent to go into shock seemed like more of an inconvenience than anything else. A robot leaking vital fluids wouldn't seek cover to address the 'bleeding' like a living opponent would and would have no trouble fighting on until they 'bled out'. They also held no emotions, and therefore no fear. They couldn't be intimidated. They would never break and run no matter how many of their comrades had been cut down, they would fight until they were ordered to do otherwise.

The advantages though were that the Rangers didn't have to restrain themselves against them. Knowing that there was no living being inside, and that they would fight until the end anyway, any blow they threw at them could be thrown for the instant take down. Until they were so badly damaged they couldn't continue, they would keep coming, and so the Rangers could aim to turn them into scrap from the outset with no moral quandaries and no worries about restraint.

Troy threw everything he had at The Commodore, who parried his strikes expertly with a bright red sabre that glowed with an unnatural light, and crackled with red lightning. He somersaulted over Troy, lashing out, only for Troy's Ultra Armour's wings to sprout forth, shielding him from the strike. The Commodore spun away, adopting a guard.

"You really are as good as my recon said you were." The Commodore complimented him. Troy just looked to him, and smiled as he saw some blood leaking from a wound in his cheek.

"You don't know the half of it." Troy answered. The Commodore reached up a hand, wiping the wound and checking his hand, seeing the blood. He looked up to Troy, clearly enraged.

"I can't remember the last time someone managed to get a strike on me." He stated. "Still, it won't do you much good!"

"I don't care if I have to take you one cut at a time." Troy snapped. As they fell upon each other again though, he felt something was wrong. As they locked blades, struggling for position, he started off strong, but he soon found that despite his slight frame, The Commodore started to win out the test of strength, driving their blades back towards Troy.

"What's the matter Ranger? Starting to tire?" He asked. "Starting to feel a little weaker?"

Troy tried not to let on, but he was indeed finding his power depleting rapidly. As The Commodore drove the blades back into the chest plate, the crackling lightning grew more intense, and started to cut into the armour. Troy looked into The Commodore's eyes as panic started to rise within him. Eventually, he found himself thrown back as his Ultra Mode Armour disappeared, struck down by The Commodore's attack.

Troy looked around and found the others in a similar predicament. Their armour had disappeared, leaving them with only their basic powers. They all quickly assembled behind Troy.

"What the hell happened?" Jake asked.

"We're losing power!" Gia stated.

"Perhaps you'd like to reconsider your position." The Commodore offered them. As Troy got up, they assembled the Megaforce Blaster. He just sighed. "Well, I guess not."

Troy levelled it at The Commodore, who simply gestured to his X-bots to stand their ground.

"No, I think I'll handle this." He told them, holding up his Sword. Troy pulled the trigger, sending their energy straight at him. The Commodore dug his heels in, catching the blast, being shoved about thirty feet back, but managing to hold it. The Rangers watched in horror as he threw the blast back their way. It struck home, burning through them and sending them to the ground, where they de-morphed. The Commodore just put his sword away as he strode towards them.

"I told you this was pointless." He taunted them. As Troy reached for his morpher, he pulled it out, but as he looked down on it, his heard sank. It was broken, the shell barely holding together, and the internal workings burned. The others found their morphers the same way. Jake's actually fell apart in his hand.

"He...he destroyed our powers?" Jake asked. "How?"

They were quickly surrounded by X-bots, levelling weapons at them. The Commodore just held up a hand to stay their hand, before gesturing to a couple of them.

"Take them into custody." He told them. "I have a press conference to take, but don't worry, I'll get to you in good time."

As the Rangers found themselves being restrained, their hands manacled behind their backs, The Commodore approached Troy, gesturing to the cut on his cheek.

"You did well. I have to commend you for that." He told him, looking to a couple of the X-bots. "Make sure they receive the best of our...hospitality."

They dragged the Rangers away, past Jason and Zack, who were being brought out to see The Commodore at gunpoint. The Commodore approached them, standing before Zack.

"Mr President." He greeted him. "I was wondering if I might have a moment of your time."

"To do what exactly?" Zack asked him.

"Well, we do seem to have made an awful mess here." He stated, panning his hand around the grounds. "There are other places we've met resistance with similar damage. I can only apologise for that."

"Just tell us what you want!" Jason piped up. The Commodore looked to him curiously.

"Do your underlings always speak out of turn like this?" He asked.

"Just tell me what you want?" Zack asked him.

"You've seen me defeat your Power Rangers." He told him. "All your other forces are woefully inadequate in the face of our power. For the sake of your people, to prevent any further loss of life, I want you to make a public address with me to order them to lay down their arms."

He saw Zack and Jason shifting a little uneasily. Zack especially, being the President, the man who was entrusted to lead his people had some difficulty with the order. However much he wanted to fight though, he knew that it wasn't the time. The Commodore was right, if he did order his people to fight, it would be short, bloody, and pointless in the face of this enemy. To prevent a bloodbath, he had to play along.

"I have your word that no one will be hurt if they obey?" Zack asked him. The Commodore just smiled.

"We have no use for a planet that's already destroyed." He replied. "Anyone that opposes us will be destroyed. Anyone who stands down, we'll allow to live their lives without any interruption. You have my word."

"You'll forgive me if I need a little reassurance." Zack told him. "I'll have Jason take my security detail off the property, if you do the same with your droids as a gesture of good faith. We can go to my office and discuss the details."

"I think I'm going to like this planet." The Commodore told him, signalling his X-bots to leave the property as he followed Zack inside. "Your people are so hospitable."

Elsewhere, Noah, Jake, Emma and Gia were languishing in a locked room of the White House that had been utilised as a makeshift cell, still shackled as they awaited whatever The Commodore had in mind for them. They didn't know the details, but they could only presume that at some point, he would make an example of them. From what little they could ascertain, The Armada had all but taken control of the whole planet. It seemed more like an occupation than an attempt at annihilation.

They all looked up as the X-bots came back, dragging Troy with them. His shirt had been torn from his body, and by the looks of things, they had been working him over hard. His torso was covered in burns, cuts and bruises. As they dumped him on the floor, they pointed to Gia.

"That one next." One of them announced. As they were closing in on her though, they stopped.

"New orders, you are all to come with us." The X-bot stated. They gathered up the Rangers, and started to haul them down the hallway. The Commodore was waiting. He looked to Troy.

"It looks like you enjoyed our hospitality." The Commodore greeted him.

"I'd fire your masseuse." Troy answered. "He was a little rough."

"Well, you won't have to worry about that for long." The Commodore told him. "For now, you get to have the best seats in the house for my public address."

"I can't wait." Jake answered sarcastically. The Commodore just sighed.

"Why do you humans have such a proclivity for sarcasm?" He asked.

"Just one thing before you do this." Troy said as he stared at The Monitor. "How did you do it?"

"There's a little known fact about The Morphing Grid." He started to explain. "It was tied in to the Eltarian bloodline."

"We know that much." Jake chipped in. The Commodore just ignored him.

"Well, the thing about that is that it relies on the existence of Eltarians." He told him. "As they aged towards extinction, all dropping off one by one, the stability of the Morphing Grid was eroded a little piece at a time."

"But...there are still Eltarians..."

"Not as many as you think." The Commodore interrupted Noah. "You see, for all her faults, as a living Eltarian, Metal Alice was part of the stability of the Morphing Grid. By destroying her, you did us a favour."

"But that still doesn't explain why we lost our powers now." Troy told him. The Commodore just smiled.

"A few hours ago, a flotilla of our ships destroyed Eltar." He informed them. "There were a few...things...still left on the planet. Not anything you'd recognise as the once great race of Eltarians, but I suppose a few thousand years of radiation and mutagenic pollution will do that to a race. In truth, what we did was more like a mercy killing than anything else."

"You destroyed Eltar?" Noah gasped. "Then that means..."

"Your precious Gosei is now the only Eltarian in existence." The Commodore interrupted him triumphantly. "The Morphing Grid was hanging by a thread, and your powers were only too simple to destroy once that was the case. Your fellow Rangers? All those that still had powers? The Morphing Grid wasn't strong enough to support them. You were the only ones left, and now...you're nothing."

He panned his gaze among them, smirking in satisfaction.

"I'm afraid there are no Rangers coming to your rescue." He informed them. "Now you have one last purpose to fulfil. You get to serve as an example as to what happens to those that refuse our...mercy."

He just waved for the X-bots to bring the Rangers as he made his way out onto the front entrance of The White House.

The Rangers saw representatives of every major news network in attendance, all being corralled into the yard by more X-bots. Zack was waiting on a chair dutifully as The Commodore arrived. The Rangers were brought to the steps and forced to kneel before the cameras. He then signalled to Zack to come to the podium.

Zack looked to the Rangers, well aware of why they were there. He looked to The Commodore, but could see no mercy in him. He knew that he had to make this announcement. He had to do as he asked; otherwise the whole world would be made to suffer. He took to the podium, removed his tie, and looked out over the crowd.

"I am making this announcement to all the people of Earth." He began. "As of this morning, an alien force known simply as The Armada descended on our planet in an all out attack. As of this evening, they have taken control of our world."

Zack looked to the Rangers again, wishing there was something that he could do.

"Our forces have been overwhelmed, but I have been assured by a representative of The Armada that they have no intention of..."

"That's quite enough, thank you Mr President." The Commodore interrupted him, making his way to the Podium. He looked out over the crowd. "Greetings, I am a representative of The Armada, you may call me The Commodore. As your President has said, we have complete control of your planet. Your military forces have been overwhelmed, even your Power Rangers have been defeated."

He gestured to the Rangers, at which the X-bots forced them to look up; making sure their faces could be seen.

"I believe you know them. Troy Burrows, Noah Carver, Jake Holling, Gia Moran and Emma Goodall...all faces that have been on your front pages." He continued. "We have only two conditions for a peaceful occupation. Number one, all your law enforcement and military organisations are disbanded, to be replaced by my X-bots. They are logical, and while they may not be too personable, they are utterly fair and unbiased. They will maintain order in your streets far better than your failed human counterparts. Secondly, do not oppose us in our business. If you allow us to go about our business without resistance, we will do the same. You will continue with your lives with as little interruption as possible."

He then gestured to the Rangers, who were all suddenly forced to bend over.

"As for those that oppose us." He announced as five X-bots approached them with huge, curved blades. They stood to the side of each of them, and slowly raised the blades overhead. "I promise, retribution will be swift and..."

Before he could finish, the five X-bots were blasted down. The crowd all looked up as the Phantom Ranger phased into view.

"You!" The Commodore called out, drawing his sword. As he moved to take on his foe, Gosei simply waved a hand, at which the Rangers disappeared in a flash of light, shortly before he too disappeared.

The Commodore turned back to the assembled press, enraged at the fact he had been denied his demonstration, but he quickly composed himself. The last thing he needed was to give the people hope that they could be released. He just threw open his hands.

"You see? Your Rangers have abandoned you!" He declared regally. "My offer stands, you will all be spared as long as you don't resist. You have my word."

The Rangers found themselves appearing in a cave, but this one was one they had never seen before. It wasn't the Command Centre. They struggled to get up with their hands still bound.

"OK, I appreciate still having my head, but did Gosei have to dump us in the middle of nowhere?" Jake grumbled.

"I wouldn't complain, lots of people would love to visit St. Lucia." They heard a familiar voice say. They all looked around as he stepped into the light. His hair was longer, and his flesh had a strange hue to it, but as he came into view and smiled, the Rangers all grinned broadly.

"Jordan!" They called out, seeing him for the first time since the battle against The Messenger.

"Where the hell have you been?" Troy asked, clearly pleased to see him.

"Gosei re-constructed The Library in a hidden location. I've been in there for some special training he wanted me to do." He informed the Rangers. "Even I don't know where it is. I'm still there actually, this is only a projection. Sorry I couldn't be there in person, I really would have loved to see you guys properly. Here, let me help you with those."

The Rangers' shackles fell from their wrists; they all looked to him in surprise.

"OK, how did you do that?" Troy asked him.

"Well, in the last couple of months I've learned a lot, especially about myself." Jordan told them as he sat down, and indicated to them to do the same. He panned a hand around the cave. "Listen up; because you're not going to believe what I have to tell you, but trust me, you are now officially Earth's only hope."

"What hope?" Jake asked him. "Gosei's gone, the Zords are gone, and we've got no powers!"

"Trust me, if you thought you were pleased to see me before, you're really going to love me in a minute." Jordan told them with a smile as he got up. "I've got something to show you that I just know you're going to love."


	3. Jordan's Surprise

The Rangers followed the projection of Jordan as he led them deeper into the cave. It grew a little narrower as they came to a passageway, and so low at times that they had to duck. All except for Jordan, who being a projection was able to just walk straight through them.

"That's an interesting new look you have." Emma commented, looking to him. Jordan just smiled.

"Yeah, a few things about me have changed." He told her.

"Your hair looks a little long for only being away for two months." Gia added.

"Like I said, a lot about me has changed." He reiterated as he walked through a low hanging part of the ceiling. Jake just shuddered.

"You know, it's a little freaky when you do that." Jake stated as Jordan's head and shoulders disappeared through some rock as he walked. Jordan just laughed.

"Don't worry Jake, this cave isn't haunted or anything." Jordan assured him. "Brownbeard's island is a few miles from here, but there are no ghosts here."

"So what exactly is here?" Troy asked as they continued. He saw some burning torches in brackets a little further down, with a piece of flint nearby. He lit two of them, handing one torch to Gia. As she took the torch though, she noticed something glistening on the ground. She bent down, and picked it up, inspecting it between her fingers. It was dirty, but shone with a distinctive glint, and the pattern on it was unmistakable.

"A Spanish doubloon?" She asked. "Jordan...what exactly is this place?"

"It's an old smuggler's hole." Jordan informed them. "More accurately, it was a place people used to hide things they didn't want to be found with by the British Fleet in this area. Think of it as kind of an early version of a numbered bank account."

"You mean this is a pirate's cave?" Noah asked him. Jordan just smiled.

"In particular, this one was used by a certain Captain Edward Teach." He informed them. Noah just stopped still.

"You mean Blackbeard?" Noah asked him. "This is Blackbeard's cave?"

"One of them at least." He told them. "He might only have had command of the Queen Anne's Revenge for a year, but it was a productive year. You'll see that when we get further into the cave."

"You mean there's more?" Jake asked, becoming noticeably excited. Jordan laughed.

"I'm guessing you find it hard to get funds right about now." He commented. "This cave was never discovered. I figured out where it was from historical accounts. Studying tidal patterns, journals of Blackbeard's journeys...it took a while, but I figured it out."

"Wait...you figured it out?" Gia asked him. "No offence Jordan, but you weren't exactly Mr. studious before you left."

"Like I said, a lot has changed." Jordan told them as they got to a massive chamber. "Well, we're here!"

As he panned his hand around, torches around the room lit up. The roof was higher, and most of the chamber was flooded with all manner of treasures. Coins, precious gems, cups, decorative weapons...the Rangers looked around in awe.

"Oh my God!" Gia gasped. "A handful of this stuff would put any of us on the Fortune 500 list!"

"Any museum or collector in the world would pay a small fortune for any of this." Noah agreed, picking up a sword with a gold spun hilt, and jewels inlaid into the hand guard and scabbard. He looked up to Jordan. "All of this stuff should be in a museum."

"Well, you can do what you want with it. Just try to remember that even you'll need some capitol." Jordan reminded them. "Think of this as kind of a piggy bank for a rainy day."

"Well, thanks, but there's just one issue." Troy reminded him. "Where exactly are we, and how exactly do we get off this island?"

"I don't know, you show a human something amazing like this and the first thing they want to do is leave." Jordan sighed shaking his head. Emma just looked at him curiously.

"Human?" She asked him. "I think you've been hanging around Gosei too long."

"Yeah, about that, you know I said a lot about me had changed?" He asked them. "Well, it's more than just the hair and this funky new skin tone."

"I thought that was just down to the projection." Noah said, looking at the slightly blue tinge to Jordan's skin tone. Jordan shook his head.

"I get it from my dad's side of the family." Jordan told them. "Gosei's my father."

"Uh...what?" Gia chimed in as they all looked at him, more than a little stunned by this. "How?"

"Yeah, I thought your mom would notice...you know...there was something different about the guy that has to wear armour to live outside."

"It was a shock to me too. I had a lot of questions as well." Jordan continued. "You see, my dad...General Edwards, his career was kind of going nowhere, and took a nose dive some time before I was born. He was really messed up by the fact that he and mom couldn't have kids. Then, on one of his deployments, he went missing for a couple of months."

"Gosei?" Troy asked. Jordan just nodded.

"He knew that the Morphing Grid needed Eltarians to keep it stable, but he knew that they were running seriously short of Eltarians, so he kind of re-wrote some of his own DNA into General Edwards, then returned him to his base with no memory of where he had been." Jordan informed them. "My mom wasn't lying when she told dad that she hadn't been with anyone else, but since some of Gosei's DNA was in the mix, I guess in a way he's my father."

"That's...more than a little creepy." Emma admitted, feeling her skin crawl at the thought. Jordan just sighed.

"Believe me; it took me a while to get my head around that one. I'm not sure if I will." Jordan admitted.

"So that's why Metal Alice was after you?" Troy asked. "She blamed Zordon for Lord Zedd's defeat, but when she learned he was dead, she went after Gosei..."

"And when she couldn't get to Gosei..."

"She went after the Grandson." Jordan concluded. "She obviously found the Eltarian component of my DNA in the blood she analysed from our first battle. After that, she was pissed that Gosei created a half-Eltarian half breed."

"That's why she kept calling you a bastard and an abomination." Noah concluded.

"I guess in a way I kind of am." Jordan replied. "Well, to allow me a normal upbringing, Gosei made sure the Eltarian side of my DNA was repressed, so that I could live as a human. After the battle though, after he brought me here, he gave me a little something that kind of kick-started the Eltarian half of my DNA."

"So that explains the new look." Jake answered. Jordan just started pacing.

"It's more than that though, since he did that, my mind...everything's just opened up!" Jordan continued. "I'm learning faster than I can ever remember. Things that had me stumped before, they just come to me...since he left me in The Library for the last couple of months...I've had quite a bit of time to learn."

"OK, so what's this master plan?" Noah asked him. "What's this wider plan Gosei has?"

"I only know some of the basics he's told me." Jordan admitted. "He told me that he knew the Morphing Grid was dangerously close to being destroyed, he kind of saw this coming. He had an idea a while back to create a new Morphing Grid, one based on a more stable species, one that wasn't on the verge of extinction."

"He wants to base a new Morphing Grid on Earth?" Troy asked him. Jordan nodded.

"He wasn't too clear on how it would work; he just said something about a ritual involving some of the strongest magical beings in the galaxy. I really don't know what this ritual entails, all I know is that he's in hiding, and can't take much part in the coming battles. That's kind of where I come in."

"My head hurts." Jake grumbled. "OK, what part do you play in all of this?"

"Over the last two months, he's had me studying the nature of Morphing Powers, looking for a way to stabilize what's left of the Morphing Grid. I think I found one." He told them. As he stepped aside, they all saw new morphers sitting on a chest next to him. Troy came over, picking his up. It looked like a cell phone, hinged in the middle.

"Well, they are smaller than the old ones." Emma commented. "It'll be easier to carry."

"It's my first time creating Morphing Powers." He told them. Gia just looked up at him.

"YOU made these?" Gia asked. He just held a hand over his chest.

"Gia, I'm hurt!" He gasped. "You don't believe in me?"

"Jordan, you almost burned down the Brainfreeze with the waffle iron once." She reminded him. "Technology wasn't exactly your strong suit."

"Well, trust me; I have a little bit of a gift for it now." He told her. "If you don't believe me, why don't you ask our little friend here?"

They all spun around as a robotic parrot flew overhead, landing on the chest. He looked up to the Rangers.

"Rangers...it's great to see you again!" It greeted them. Emma just looked confused.

"Again?" She asked, looking to Jordan. He just smiled.

"His old body was too trashed to save." Jordan assured them. "Gosei saved his memory core though, and kept a current running through it in his armour. We transferred it into this little guy."

"You mean...that's...?"

"TENSOU!" The Rangers all called out in unison, flocking around the parrot in delight.

"We thought you were..."

"My new body's taking a little getting used to." He admitted. "And my memory's not what it was."

"He was kind of my first project." Jordan admitted, sucking his teeth. He pulled in closer to Troy. "He might have a few glitches, but try not to bring it up. He's a little touchy about it."

Troy just nodded.

"So, we have Tensou, and we have new morphers." Jake stated. "Does that mean we have new powers?"

"Would I give you morphers without powers?" Jordan asked them. "They also have a little bit of a bonus surprise. Open them out."

As the Rangers flipped them open, they saw that the upper half of the morpher appeared to have a keyhole in it. Noah just furrowed his brows.

"OK, what's this?" He asked.

"Well, the Morphing Grid doesn't have enough energy to maintain all the powers of the Rangers out there, but it does have enough for them to exist after a fashion." He started to explain. "Do you remember those figurines in the old Command Centre?"

"We have been staring at them all year." Gia said sarcastically.

"Well, they've been converted into keys." He informed them. "They each contain the blueprint of the powers they represent. By using your OWN power to channel them, if you have the right key, you can utilise the powers and abilities of any Ranger team that's come before you!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" Noah asked. "Let's go back to the Command Centre and get..."

"Yeah...there's a slight complication with that." Jordan told them. "The keys have kind of...been lost."

"Come again?" Troy asked him. Jordan just threw up his hands.

"It was an accident alright?" He snapped. "I was only trying to harness the power of every Ranger team there's been on my first attempt to create Ranger powers, how was I meant to know the power build up would cause them to scatter?"

"So...we don't have any of those keys?" Jake asked him. Jordan just sighed and shook his head.

"I'm afraid for now you'll need to make do with these." He told him, gesturing to the morphers. "Your morphers all have a compass that'll take you wherever you need to go."

"They don't point north." Gia commented as she checked out her compass function. Jordan just smiled.

"But you're not going north are you?" He asked. "Just concentrate on where you want to go, and they'll lead you the quickest route."

"So, we've got some powers at least." Jake stated.

"Oh, that's only the beginning." Jordan told them. "Tensou will take you from here. I have to go now; my communication time is nearly up. Unfortunately I can't join you right now, but hopefully I'll be done here soon."

As he disappeared, the Rangers were left alone with Tensou. The little parrot just hopped a few times, before taking to the air.

"It's just this way." He told them, fluttering frantically down a side passage. "Come on, hurry up!"

"I...I can't believe Jordan's our new mentor." Gia grumbled as they followed Tensou.

"Maybe you should have been nicer to him." Jake suggested as he nudged her.

"Hey, he got on my nerves alright?" She said with a smile. Although she and Jordan had a kind of strange relationship where they delighted in winding each other up and getting on each other's nerves, they really were good friends when all was said and done. She was just as glad as the others to finally see Jordan. Eventually, they got into another large cavern, which lit up with an unnatural light. They all stood at the entrance, looking out into the centre of the room, unable to believe their eyes.

"Um...do you think that's...our new Zord?"

"Zords." Tensou corrected them, landing on Troy's shoulder. "The others are inside it."

"Jordan made...this?" Emma asked.

"He's got to be kidding right?" Gia gasped.

"Well...it was his first time making Ranger powers." Noah surmised. "And he was bringing us to Blackbeard's cave...I guess he got a little inspiration..."

"Noah, it's a gigantic red PIRATE SHIP!" Jake responded, gesturing to the massive Zord before them. It took the form of a huge, red, three masted galleon, with ports for cannons. Troy took a while to take it in, and found himself grinning.

"I kind of like it." He admitted.

"Oh, there's something else." Tensou told them. "He knows you might be running short on clothing, so...he left some stuff for you to wear. Think of it as uniforms."

"Uniforms?" Noah asked. Tensou turned, showing them a display off to the side.

"There are spares, so you won't run out." He assured them. Troy approached the display first, followed by each of the other Rangers. His outfit consisted of a white shirt, black trousers with buckled black boots, and a long, red greatcoat, covered in gold braiding. Each of the others had similar outfits waiting for them.

"OK, I get the Zord...but isn't he taking this pirate thing a bit far?" Gia asked.

"Well, we are on the run, fighting against the odds, looking for treasure...kind of." Noah rhymed off, picking up his greatcoat and trying it on for size. He just smiled. "I kind of like it."

"Wait a minute...there's a mistake." Jake told them. "Where's mine?"

"What do you mean?" Noah asked him.

"There's a red one, a yellow, pink, blue, silver, green..." He rhymed off. "There's no black one!"

"Oh, Jordan asked me to say...the Silver one is his." Tensou told them. The others all looked among each other, and then to Jake, who just stared at him.

"Wait...so you mean...?" He started to say, before throwing his hands up. "Jordan!"

"What?" Troy asked in a giggle, realising the problem.

"He did this on purpose!" Jake complained. "I can't believe he's messing with me, even when he's giving me Ranger powers!"

"Jake hates green." Noah chuckled as the others laughed at his over-reaction. "He always has."

"Yeah, and Jordan knew that!" Jake complained. "He's lucky he's in that damned Library!"

"To be fair, it does look pretty good on you." Gia assured him as she threw his greatcoat at him. "Besides, if that's the worst thing that happens to us, we're doing well."

"OK guys, who says we get changed, and then try this new hardware out?" Troy suggested.

A little while later, Troy strode into the cockpit of the Zord, fully decked out in his new uniform. His coat flowed behind him as he walked, finding the others waiting for him. There were stations for each of them on the bridge, with the main one behind the massive spoked wheel obviously being meant for him. As he got to the bridge, Emma came over to him, smiling broadly and kissed him passionately.

"I have to commend Jordan's taste." She told him. "That uniform looks good on you."

"You look pretty amazing too." He complimented her, holding her close. "I don't know if many pirates wore pink, but I think that might be a new favourite..."

"Hey guys!" Jake called out bad-temperedly. "No PDA in the cockpit!"

"Yeah, it's bad enough what happened in the cave." Gia said with a shudder. "Those caves echo you know."

"I think I'll decide what the rules of the cockpit are." Troy told them. "It is my Zord, so I guess that makes me captain."

Emma just turned a little pink and headed to her seat, taking up position. They all looked to the empty sixth seat.

"I guess Jordan did tell us to start this without him." Noah remarked. "So, what do we do?"

"Yeah, where to Captain Marvellous?" Jake asked him. Troy just sighed.

"Don't call me that." Troy warned him. "I say we don't let the Commodore get too comfortable. Let's show him that even when we're down, we're not out for long. Tensou?"

"Yes Captain?" Tensou asked him.

"Set a course for The White House." Troy told him. "Let's show the Commodore what he's provoked."


	4. Pirates Attack

**A/N: **OK, I really don't like doing Author's notes like this, it really makes me feel like I'm starting the chapter on a bad note, but I wanted to address some "reviews" I received for the first couple of chapters. Before proceeding, I will reiterate, I do not mind criticism. If I have made genuine mistakes in my writing, I will accept any constructive criticism, and have indeed thanked people for pointing them out. I also accept people have their own opinion, and not everyone will like what I write. That is every person's right to decide, but these "reviews" did seem a little personal to me.

I never have, and never WILL claim that my stories are anything other than what they are. They are MY way of writing the show, namely the way I would write them, were I actually writing the show! While I obviously use the source material for guidelines and reference, that does mean there will be differences. These differences are ALWAYS for a reason, and with a greater overall vision in mind. More often than not, I will be considerably behind the show in content, other times, like here, I may touch on things that are yet to happen. In this instance, I am doing so with a very real plan in mind, and not simply "rushing blindly ahead".

I really don't like doing things like this, and would rather just let people enjoy the work or not as they see fit. Sorry for the rant, and I hope you enjoy the chapter...and the following authors' note.

The Commodore sat in the large, leather chair behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, his feet crossed on top of it, leaning back in the chair while one of his robotic attendants treated the wound on his cheek. Although he wasn't seriously hurt, it had been a long time since he had faced any opponent that had been good enough to cause him any real form of injury. He had taken many ships for The Armada, priding himself on the clinical efficiency of his boarding actions, and few ever got close to injuring him, such was his skill. This human though, this Ranger...he had managed not only to get through his guard and injure him, but had humiliated him by marking his face, wounding him in a way that wouldn't be hidden.

"The wound is clean, but it is deep." The robotic attendant informed him as it finished stitching up the wound. "It will leave a scar."

The Commodore just glared at the attendant in frustration, before relenting and gesturing to him to continue the treatment. There was nothing that could be done, the damage was already done. Of course, his mood wasn't helped by the fact that his vengeance had been snatched from him at the last moment. Gosei had snatched the Rangers from under his nose on national television moments before he could make an example of them. He looked to the corner, where Zack, the President Elect of the United States...though now more in name more than anything else, seemed to have a satisfied smirk on his face, even though his current task was simply to hold The Commodore's greatcoat while his attendant dealt with his injury.

"You think this is funny don't you?" He asked, gesturing to the scar. "You think I deserve this, that this is somehow some symbol of hope that we can be defeated."

"Actually I just think it's funny you're being such a cry baby about a little scratch." Zack answered. "For someone that spends so much of his time looking for trouble, you don't seem to be ready for the consequences. Here's a news flash. If you get into fights, don't be surprised to walk away with a few scars every now and then."

As the attendant finished, The Commodore walked over to Zack, grabbing his left wrist and twisting it to force Zack to look at his left hand as he took his great coat. Zack's left hand was missing the middle finger.* The Commodore just smiled.

"I suppose this is just such a souvenir?" He asked.

"I had an active childhood." Zack replied, retrieving his hand as The Commodore put his greatcoat back on and started to button it up. "One of your cronies was kind enough to inform me your guests are waiting in the other room."

"Excellent." He responded regally. "Wait here, I have a few more matters of state to discuss with you."

He swept from the room, making his way down the corridor to one of the other rooms. Just as Zack had assured him, his guests were waiting.

Most of the Ranger teams that had come before the current team had managed to keep their identities secret from the press. Although he had destroyed the current team's powers, the last thing he wanted to do was take any chances with any previous teams. So far, there had been accounts of 100** Rangers having been seen on Earth, and most of them were still unknown to him. As he got to the room, 14 people were waiting for him. He furrowed his brows and turned to one of his droids.

"There should be more." He stated flatly. "More Rangers were exposed, the ones that destroyed the United Alliance of Evil..."

"There's been no sign of the Space Rangers in many years." The oldest man in the room informed him. "After receiving so much hounding from the press, they all went off the grid. No one's received any confirmed reports of them for about a decade."

"Did anyone address you?" The Commodore asked. Commander Mitchell, now simply Mr Mitchell now that The Commodore had forced the military to disband, meaning the rank he had worked hard for his whole career to earn was meaningless. He just stood, resolute in The Commodore's presence, defiant despite the implied threat.

"I simply wanted to save you some time." He replied. "Check the press databases if you don't believe me, no one's seen the Space Rangers for years. Many believe they left the planet."

"Check it out." The Commodore ordered one of his subordinates. The droid left to look for any reports relating to any of the former Rangers on that team. The Commodore started to pace up and down the line.

"You look nervous." Andrew Hartford commented. "I can't say I blame you. Out of...what? about 100 Rangers? You can only find 11."

"That's a lot of people unaccounted for." Ronny added. The Commodore came to her and cradled her chin with his hand. He smiled.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll find them." He assured her. "If I was you, I'd be more worried about what was going to happen to me."

"Nah, I really don't care what happens to you." Ronny replied, eliciting a small laugh from the others. The Commodore just caught her across the face with a back-handed slap, earning him a burning glare of hatred.

"Overdrive Rangers, I believe there were six of you, I appear to be one Ranger short." He stated, walking down the line. "Veronica Robinson, Mackenzie Hartford, William Aston, Dax Lo, Rose Ortiz...where is Tyzonn?"

"Tyzonn was Mercurian." Mack answered, taking the lead for his team. If anything was going to happen to them, he wanted it to happen to him first. He would never let his team suffer anything he wasn't willing to go through himself. "He left the planet after our final battle with his fiancée. He's married now, but he hasn't been to Earth in years."

He made his way to the Lightspeed team, and smiled.

"Now, you really did make it easy. All of you were on the Government payroll. That paper trail was SO easy to follow. That was so considerate of you." He greeted them sarcastically.

"We have nothing to hide." Carter announced. "We're all proud of the time we served with Lightspeed."

"Carter Grayson, Joel Rawlings, Chad Lee, Kelsey Winslow-Lee, Dr Dana Mitchell and Ryan Mitchell...at least I have the full set here." He informed them, making his way to a desk, and placing down a pad and a pen. He looked to the teams before him and smiled. "Now, I'm going to ask you once nicely. If you give me the information I want to know, then I promise you, none of you will be harmed in any way. I want to know the names and locations of any and all other Rangers you know."

The teams just stood, staring at him. He sighed.

"I've done my research, I've seen you battle alongside other teams before." He informed them. "I'm guessing that at some point you may have talked to each other? Perhaps even...exchanged contact details?"

They all stood, defiant under his gaze. All of them had at one time or another served alongside other Rangers, and most of them did indeed know who others were. Of course, loyalty ran deeply within those that had served as Rangers. There was always an unspoken rule, especially after what happened to the Space Rangers, that if a team hadn't made their identities public knowledge of their own accord, then no other Ranger would expose them. The Commodore just sighed.

"I'm losing my patience." He told them.

"What if we don't know anything?" Will asked him. "I can't speak for the old-timers over there, but I know when we teamed up, we had a strict Spandex-Only rule."

"I'm sorry?" The Commodore asked him incredulously.

"We only ever met each other in uniform." Will clarified. "We all agreed it would be safest if none of us ever found out who they were, just in case...you know...something like this happened."

This was a complete lie. The Overdrive team had met the Returning Rangers, and had kept in contact with them after their tenure together. Of course, they weren't about to tell The Commodore that, and Will, by nature of his career as a cat burglar, was a master of misdirection. Lying to customs officials, military, law enforcement...all of it meant that he was always very convincing when he had to. He looked to the Lightspeed team.

"Hey, don't look at us; neither of the teams we teamed up with are here anymore." Joel told them. "The Galaxy Rangers went back to Miranoi, and the Time Force Rangers...well...the name says it all. Maybe we can look them up in about a thousand years."

The Commodore got up from the desk, and placed a device down on it. It was a large black box, about the size of a shoe box, with a keypad on top of it, and alien writing down the sides. He then looked back to the people assembled in the room.

"Well then, if that's all you know, I suppose there's no point in keeping you any further." He stated. "If all of you would be kind enough to line up and place your left hand in this device, and my associates will return you to your homes as soon as possible."

"What is that thing?" Carter asked him.

"Oh, it's just a little way for us to keep track of you." He told them. "It is perfectly painless I can assure you."

"What does it do?" Mack chipped in. The Commodore just smiled. He gestured to two of his robots, who grabbed Ronny. Struggling, they dragged her across the room, and shoved her left hand into the device. After they heard a loud, stamping sound, they let her go. Removing her hand, Ronny saw that she now had a large, silver cuff bracelet around it. It was completely seamless, and had no noticeable locking mechanism.

"There, that wasn't so bad was it?" He asked her. She tried to remove it, but it was skin-tight, and wouldn't budge.

"What is this thing?" She demanded.

"It is a tracking bracelet." He informed her. "It contains a GPS chip, and a microphone. It will allow us to keep track of where you are and what you're talking about."

"Get this thing OFF!" She demanded. He just looked at her blankly.

"But...you have nothing to hide do you?" He asked her. "I just need to appease my superiors. I suppose I could always allow you to serve a period of observation in confinement. Of course, I can't guarantee the accommodations will be as comfortable as they are at your home."

Ronny and the others all looked around each other. They didn't like the sound of being tracked, and knew it would complicate matters if any previous Rangers DID try to contact them for help, but they knew that they wouldn't be able to help anyone in prison. Not to mention, sitting at home sounded a lot better than taking their chances being locked up. Mr Mitchell was the first to step forward, sticking his hand in the machine, and having his tracking bracelet applied.

Just as the others were lining up, The Commodore's attention was grabbed as he heard explosions outside. He gestured to one of his underlings.

"See to things here." He instructed the robot, before rushing to the main doors. He threw them open, coming out onto the steps, and saw some of the droids looking up.

"What's going on?" He roared. He looked up himself, and his mouth hung open at what he saw.

Coming through the sky, descending through the clouds was a huge, red galleon, firing its energy cannons as it went. Several of the ships hovering over the White House were reduced to smouldering wreckage as it came into view. The Commodore just looked up in amazement as more of his robots came to his assistance.

"What the hell is THAT?" He screamed. As it descended, coming low enough for him to see, Troy was standing on the bow of the ship, his greatcoat flapping in the breeze, with a smile on his face. "YOU!"

"We can be annoyingly persistent." He commented. "Oh, this is the part where you duck by the way."

The Commodore watched in horror as the cannon by the bow fired. He only just pulled out his sword, parrying the shot, but the power was enough to send him flying, crashing through several walls, all the way into the rear of the building. The other Rangers assembled alongside Troy on the bow.

"Well, we know the ship works." Noah commented. "So, are we done here?"

"I think we can make the message sink a little deeper." Troy answered, grabbing a line. All of the others did the same, and they rappelled down from the ship, landing on the lawn outside the White House. Seeing the X-bots starting to regroup, Gia smiled as they lined up.

"Alright, the ship worked out." She commented. "Let's see how Jordan's new powers measure up."

Activating their morphers, there was a flash of light, after which the Rangers stood resplendent in their new uniforms. They had black bodysuits, with boots, and long coats over them in their respective colours, with white gloves. The long coats had gold trim and accents. The parting in the coats exposed the emblem of a stylised skull, set over a pair of crossed cutlasses. Their helmets repeated the emblem over a blacked out visor. Troy stood to the fore, facing down the assembled robots.

"I don't suppose you're going to stand aside are you?" He asked. As they levelled their weapons, he smiled. "I didn't think so."

Rushing forward, the Rangers called forth their weapons. They were not prepared for what they found. Completely unlike the weapons they were used to, each of them was now equipped with a blaster that somewhat resembled a flintlock pistol, and a cutlass. As she approached her first opponent, Emma fired her pistol, finding its upper body disappearing, torn completely from its body.

"Whoa!" She commented.

"OK, this is going to take some getting used to." Jake commented, swinging his sword, slicing through x-bots with ease. "Damn it, couldn't he have given us our old weapons?"

"Come on, you're still just pissed he changed your colour!" Noah commented, leaping through the air, firing his pistol and taking out more of the robots. "These weapons are amazing!"

"I might have known you'd get off on the whole pirate thing." Emma giggled. Gia took down a large group near the doorway.

"The way's clear!" She called out. "Troy, do your thing!"

Troy ran through the doorway, and carried on through the passageway of ruined walls, cutting down robots as he went, coming into the Oval Office. He found The Commodore, only just regaining his feet, and trying to shake off the cobwebs from the cannon assault as he arrived. Zack was standing in the corner.

"Sorry about the damage Mr President." Troy greeted him. "For what it's worth, my dad voted for you."

Troy pulled off his helmet, letting The Commodore see his face. He smiled as he levelled his sword his way.

"Alright, since you treated us so well, I'm giving you one friendly warning." Troy told him. "Leave now, and leave with your life."

"I don't know where you got these new powers, but do you really think that will be enough?" He roared, pulling out his own sword.

"You know, you talk a lot." Troy answered as they crossed swords.

Elsewhere in the building, the rest of the Rangers were fighting through the building, searching for any innocent bystanders to let them escape when they found the room with the Lightspeed and Overdrive teams. Emma and Noah took down their robot guards with a barrage of blasts from their pistols as Jake made his way inside.

"We thought you'd appreciate a rescue." Jake stated. "Come on..."

His words were cut off as Dana placed a finger over her lips. She picked up the pad and pen, before writing a quick message on it. She held it up, showing him a message stating 'we've been bugged'. It had an arrow pointing to her left wrist, where Jake could see the bracelet.

"We're going nowhere with you!" Dana called out. "The Commodore's promised our safety! All you've done is blow things up!"

Hearing more robots coming, Gia ripped the pad from Dana's hands and threw it up in the air, before firing her pistol, obliterating it, leaving no trace of the note.

"Come on, they've chosen their side!" Jake called out, playing along. He knew that they weren't siding with The Armada, but if they were being monitored, then he knew taking them with them would be more of a liability than anything else. They ran out of the room, starting to search for Troy.

Back in the Oval Office, Troy found this battle to be a lot more even than the last. His new powers weren't fading as his previous ones had been; Jordan's powers were indeed a lot more stable. Unfortunately what he hadn't counted on was his different weapons. His Dragon Sword and even his Ultra Sword had both been straight, double edged blades. They were designed for thrusting attacks primarily, though with a double-edged blade, they could also be swung either direction with equal effect. The cutlass was a shorter, heavier, curved blade, encouraging a far more aggressive style. It was weighted more to the centre than the hilt, to assist with slashing, and its curved blade meant that it struck with a smaller surface area, making the strikes more effective, but encouraging a more circular, swinging style than the direct style of a straight blade. While it did have a point for thrusting, it was designed more for slashing, and having only one edge, he had to adapt to swing for that side.

The Commodore was still suffering from the surprise attack of the cannon, and his rage was blinding him, but Troy could tell his hurry to deliver the message, to let The Armada know that while they were down, they weren't out, he had rushed in without due preparation for using their new equipment.

However, using the distraction, Troy managed to get through his guard, scoring a swipe to his right cheek. The monitor pressed his fingers to it, seeing his own blood, and his expression turned into one of pure anger.

"Now both sides match!" Troy told him. "I can see you're scared you know, and you have every right to be."

The Commodore went for him again, but Troy stepped aside, letting him slash one of the couches in half.

"Thanks to you, we've got nowhere to go, no one to help, and nothing to lose!" Troy reminded him. "And that terrifies you to no end, because now...now you know there's nothing that will make us stop fighting!"

He was driven back over the Resolute Desk by an unexpected rush from The Commodore, barely managing to get his blade in the way. Driving their blades towards him, Troy saw The Commodore smiling.

"New powers or not, I am the superior warrior!" He sneered. "In a fair fight, no one can defeat me!"

"Then that's not much of an incentive to fight fair then is it?" Troy asked him. The Commodore looked down to see Troy's pistol in his hand. Troy fired, blasting him across the room.

Although he had been taken by surprise this time, Troy knew that edge would soon be lost, and he could tell The Commodore was far from ready to go down yet. Troy replaced his helmet, before turning to The Resolute Desk, levelling his pistol at it.

"By the way, you didn't earn the right to sit behind there." He stated, before firing, reducing it to kindling. He looked to Zack. "Sorry, but it looks like I owe you a desk too."

Troy started to run as the others joined him, heading for the ship. They grabbed their lines and were swept up into the sky, starting to fly away just as The Commodore came back to the front of the building. Troy stood on the bow with a loud hailer.

"People of Earth, we know you are scared, but we ask only that you stand aside! We have no desire to see any of you hurt!" Troy announced. "As for The Armada...today we've shown that we are prepared to fight you to the end! If you value your lives, I suggest you leave now!"

As the ship turned and flew into the distance, The Commodore just screamed in frustration. He had been attacked in what was meant to be the ultimate symbol of his domination over the Earth. The Rangers had the audacity to bring the fight to him. He knew his superiors would not be happy to hear about this development. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Ronny and the others standing behind him.

"Is this a bad time to ask about that ride home?" She asked him. As he stormed away, signalling to some of his troops to take them away, Ronny got a satisfied grin on her face.

**A/N 2: **Just two little things from this chapter that I wanted to address, that are a lot lighter than the previous one.

*This note, about Zack's missing finger is something I have mentioned before...and it is actually a reference to the actor Walter Jones, who is missing the middle finger of his left hand in real life! Don't believe me; check out some of the MMPR episodes! They don't reference it, but there are times it is very visible on screen! I incorporated it into the character. You may also catch allusions that it may be a result of his Ranger days? Well...maybe that might come up!

** The figure of 100 I came up with was actually a complicated one, so here's how I figured it. Four of the MMPR Rangers were replaced, but how would the public know that? Also, they wouldn't know they became the Zeo, then Turbo Rangers...so a snarl of numbers there. The Galaxy Rangers WERE seen on Earth, as were the Time Force Rangers, and SPD (in the crossover with DT). Now WE know they all left after their respective appearances, but again...the public wouldn't so...

Finally, in my canon, the RPM Rangers all came to this dimension to team with the Samurai team. They would have been seen, but as we know, disappeared afterwards. Again, the public wouldn't know that they had left this DIMENSION, so I hope that explains where I got the figure from. It's more about what the public records would THINK they knew about the Rangers than what the facts were.

Thank you all for your support and for reading through the tedious authors' notes in this chapter. Hopefully that should be the last such note I need to write, and I can concentrate on the story.


	5. The First Treasure Hunt Begins

The Rangers had been pursued for a while, but the galleon's cannons had quickly seen off the pursuit. The smuggler's cave was well hidden, and without a single entrance large enough to let something the size of the galleon in or out, they had to rely on a short-range teleport jump to bring it back into the cave.

Once in there, the Rangers assembled in the main cabin of the galleon. Only the main wheel remained, while the others had sunk into the floor, and a large table had replaced it. It hadn't taken Emma and Jake long searching the island to find enough food to prepare a meal for them all. They assembled around the table. As soon as he was finished, Troy pushed his plate away from himself. The others were deep in conversation, and exchanging a few laughs. It was an unfamiliar sound among the team, it had been quite some time since they had a reason to laugh.

"That was seriously amazing!" Jake reiterated. "I don't know what Jordan's been doing in the Library, but for his first go, I'd say these powers are a serious hit!"

"I hate to admit it, but the boy did well." Gia agreed. "Did you see the look on The Commodore's face when Troy fired that cannon?"

"Oh man, that was worth thrashing the White House to see!" Noah chuckled. As they laughed, Troy just let out a sigh.

"So...that's it?" He asked. "That's all we have to say?"

"Troy, we won!" Jake told him. "We got out, The Commodore was left licking his wounds, now he knows not to mess with us!"

"We got LUCKY!" Troy snapped, pounding a fist on the table. The others just looked at him, seeing him losing his temper. Frustration was commonplace among them for a while now. Having spent two months in the cave, in such close proximity to each other, nerves got a little frayed at times. Between that and the fact that with every battle, they seemed to be losing more and more ground, it had meant that more than a few times the whole situation had gotten to them, but especially to Troy, who had always taken it personally whenever his team ended up suffering. It was like a personal failure. "We had the element of surprise! He didn't expect us to have the power to take him on like that! We won't have that advantage again!"

"Troy, try to relax." Emma said soothingly. "Sure, it's not going to win any style points for being the greatest battle we've ever fought, but..."

"That's exactly it! We rushed in there with untested powers and no idea what to expect!" Troy interrupted her. "That...that's my fault."

"Troy, you didn't MAKE us do anything." Jake reminded him.

"Yeah, we all went." Gia agreed.

"And because we weren't familiar with our new weapons, we were struggling." Troy told them. "Guys...we're the only Ranger team left in operation. We can't take any more chances like that."

They all just looked around the table, but they realised he had a point. They were, at present, the only Ranger team that had any powers of any description, if anything happened to them, then the world would suffer.

"I guess...it couldn't hurt to practice a little." Noah answered. "I know I'm not the greatest swordsman around. If I am going to run around with a cutlass, I guess it would help to learn how to use it."

"Not to mention Jordan did say something about other Zords." Jake answered.

"Well, can't we at least begin in the morning?" Emma asked. "I don't know about any of you, but right now, I'm exhausted."

Troy just nodded in agreement.

"Alright, I had a look around, and it seems there are bedrooms on this thing." He informed them. "I guess it would be more comfortable than the cave."

"I guess Jordan thought of everything." Noah stated.

"Everything except my Ranger colour." Jake grumbled as he got up from the table. "I swear, he's lucky he's in that Library!"

"Relax Jake, it's not the worst thing in the world." Gia chuckled.

"Whatever, just get some rest." Troy told them. "We're starting early tomorrow."

Meanwhile, back at The White House, The Commodore was overseeing some repairs, having had his latest injuries tended to. Within a full day of his arrival, the Rangers had embarrassed him not just once, but twice. He still had no idea how Gosei had provided them with new powers or weapons, all he knew was that the White House, what should have stood as the ultimate testament to his dominance over the planet, the ultimate example of how simple it had been to take the planet with little to no resistance, was now lying in a state of ruin.

"Well, I'll say one thing for them." Zack stated as he looked around. "They clearly have no respect for property."

"I thought you humans were meant to have respect for your historical landmarks." The Commodore grumbled. Zack wasn't especially happy about seeing a building that had been standing for centuries being wrecked, but he had to admit seeing The Commodore squirming, while he was clearly waiting for his superiors to contact him, to grill him about how the Rangers had come back and caused such destruction. It was a familiar scene that Zack knew more than one villain had gone through, but looking at the way The Commodore was acting, it looked like it wasn't a situation he was used to. One of his attendants entered the room and said something to him quietly. Zack almost had to laugh, obviously he didn't want "the human" to hear he was about to be chewed out.

"Clear the room." The Commodore told them. "Take this one to his quarters."

"I know the way." Zack put down. "I have been living here five years."

As he left, The Commodore just closed the doors, giving himself as much privacy as the room allowed. He turned around, and took a knee bowing his head, unable to look as a hologram of his superior appeared in the room.

"Would you care to explain yourself?" His boss asked him. The Commodore just shook his head regretfully.

"I have no excuses." He stated. "They caught me by surprise. It will not happen again."

"You assured me that destroying Eltar would destroy their powers!" His superior chastised him. "How did this happen? How did the Rangers manage to gain the power to cause this...MESS...inside a single day?"

"Eltarians are tricky, I've killed enough of them to know that." The Commodore replied. "Gosei...he must have found some way to fortify the Morphing Grid power his life force supports..."

"You're telling me that you have been outwitted not just by any Eltarian...but the mutated bastard of one who cannot even BREATHE unaided?" Another voice asked. The Commodore's fists tightened in frustration.

"With all due respect," he began, his voice low and sinister as he tried to keep his composure in the presence of his superiors, "he may be a mutated bastard, but he is the mutated bastard son of The Great Mage Zordon."

"That sounds almost like admiration." He heard the return comment.

"In my experience failing to respect your quarry is followed quickly by defeat." He answered.

"Very well then." The superior officer replied. "I trust then that you have at least come up with a strategy for how you plan to rectify this...situation."

"The last thing we would want is for the humans to regain some semblance of hope." The other voice stated. The Commodore just nodded.

"I think I may have a way to address both problems." He told them. "If the Rangers wish to behave like pirates, then we shall treat them as such."

"I'm not sure I follow." The superior officer stated. The Commodore smiled.

"The victor in war is not always the one that strikes the first blow." He stated. "Sometimes, they are the ones with the best press."

The following morning, back in the cave, the Rangers had risen early, determined to spend the day familiarising themselves with their new powers and equipment. After spending an hour warming up, they had split off into different areas to practice. Emma was with Gia and Jake, taking in some target practice with their new pistols, while Troy worked with Noah on his swordsmanship at his insistence.

They found that Jordan had taken his love for the theme of pirates to extremes. Their equipment appeared to be best suited to brutal, short-ranged assaults, much like Jordan had always been more inclined towards during his days as the Sentinel Knight. Their short, curved swords were designed, like the cutlass they replicated, for use in close quarters, like a boarding action on a ship where space was limited. Their new blasters also seemed better suited to short ranges, being more powerful than their previous armament, but growing less accurate over distance.

Noah hit the ground hard as Troy stood over him. The frustration was obvious in his face. Having used almost exclusively ranged weapons for the last year, this was something he wasn't accustomed to. Even his Ultra Sword had ranged ability which he was more comfortable with. He knew though that he would have no way of avoiding such confrontations now. Before, he could get by as the team's tech head, but in this cave, they had little use for a computer nerd. If he needed to learn to be a fighter, a pirate to be of use to his friends, then that was what he would do.

"You're over-reaching." Troy told him as he kicked Noah's sword back to him. "You put yourself off-balance, you can't afford to do that, especially on uneven ground."

Noah got back to his feet, and went for Troy again. Their swords rang out, but Troy, even with a sword that was unfamiliar, had far more training. Noah quickly found himself being elbowed in the face, and falling to the floor.

"Troy!" Jake called out, putting his pistol down. "What the hell man?"

"He's just trying to get Noah ready." Jordan said as his projection appeared in the room, sitting on a large pile of gold. "Nice shot by the way Troy."

"We're meant to be hurting the bad guys, not each other!" Jake protested. Noah just waved him off.

"No, Jordan's right." Noah told him, pulling himself back to his feet. "We can't play with kid gloves. The Armada won't, that's for sure."

"So, I see you've put my new weapons to good use." Jordan announced with a smirk. "Caught what you did at the White House...that was top notch, I've got to say! I really just wish I could have been there with you."

"Any idea how long it'll be before you can join us?" Noah asked. Jordan just shrugged.

"That's all up to Gosei." Jordan told them. "I still haven't seen him, he's not telling me any more than he's telling you. All he said is I have to remain here."

He leapt off the pile of Gold, and started to cross the room.

"That reminds me, there's something I think you should all see." He told them. "Tensou, get yourself over here and start projecting the International News Network on...that wall."

Tensou flew over, landing on a rock, and started to project. The Rangers all assembled to watch as the image of The White House came into view. They watched as a reporter was standing addressing the camera.

"This is Cassidy Cornell reporting for the International News Network standing outside the White House." She began. "The spokesperson for The Armada, known only as The Commodore, has called for a press conference to address the aftermath of the battle reported on last night. At this point in time, there has been no confirmation, but numerous accounts have reported seeing a large red galleon, flying a pirate flag seen flying over the city. These same sources also state that those piloting the vessel claimed to be the Power Rangers, and promised to return. We have no further reports about this, but we understand The Commodore..."

"Cass, Cass...he's here!" The cameraman told her, his hand coming into view and pointing frantically behind her. Cassidy muttered something, before composing herself.

"The Commodore has now come out of the White House, and is preparing to make his statement." She announced, before turning to listen. The Commodore ascended the podium, and stood, gripping the edges of it.

"I have come to address the incident that occurred here last night." The Commodore told them. "I can confirm that as many of you have heard, it was the Rangers that escaped from my custody during the occupation."

He heard a murmur among the press and smiled.

"Yes, I suppose if I were in your shoes I might treat this as good news too." He told them. "However, I would like to draw your attention to the building behind me, one of your national treasures, filled with artwork that was priceless...much of it now completely ruined."

He looked out over the crowd.

"I promised that the occupation would be as painless and trouble free as possible, and I like to think I have kept my promise, and yet this is how your Rangers repay that trust." He announced. "They destroy your national treasures, they attack my forces, they destroy my ships directly over your city, causing debris to fall. You all know that casualties have already been reported from that battle!"

The crowd of reporters started clamouring for position as The Commodore started pacing.

"I cannot, I WILL NOT allow their reckless actions to endanger my mission, or the safety of your people while we perform our search here." He told them. "I promised that once our duty is done here, we will leave, and I have kept every one of my promises, but the Rangers...all their actions do is threaten the peace and the safety of the very people they claim to be trying to protect! Well, I simply say this, I do not want to see any more people harmed. I will not harm any if I do not have to. All I ask in return is that you do not interfere in our business."

He looked to the crowd and threw out his hands.

"I have been hasty. While your military organisations will not be reinstated, I will make the concession of reinstating your own law enforcement, with my own droids as assistance." He declared. "As for your Rangers, if you want peace as I do, I will ask that you help bring them to justice."

With that, five large banners unfurled down the front of the White House. Each of them carried an image of one of the Rangers. They saw that they were all declared as wanted for the crimes of treason, sedition and piracy.

"Troy Burrows, Noah Carver, Jake Holling, Gia Moran and Emma Goodall have now been declared enemies of the world. The capture of Troy Burrows will be rewarded by a two million dollar bounty, any of the others one million. Information leading to their arrest will be rewarded based upon its merit." He declared loudly. "Anyone caught assisting them will be charged with wilful sedition or even a wilful act of treason. Do your duty my citizens. Seek the peaceful passage of our peoples. Remove this dangerous and short-sighted enemy. Think of your children!"

As The Commodore left the stage, ignoring calls for questions, the projection cut out and Tensou squealed, falling off his perch with a loud crash as a sword handle rebounded off his head. The Rangers all looked to Troy, who had thrown the offending sword.

"Troy!" They all protested angrily.

"Shooting the messenger much?" Jake stated sarcastically.

"Sorry Tensou." He muttered. He started pacing as he tried to think.

"Well, I guess if we wanted to be pirates...we've got it now." Emma stated. "Complete with the price on our heads."

"Why does Troy get to be worth double what the rest of us are?" Jake asked. They all stared at him. "I was just asking!"

"I've scarred The Commodore twice." Troy reminded them. "I'm guessing he doesn't like that."

"Well this complicates matters." Gia stated. "I know a lot of people WANT us to win, but he makes it all sound so easy! He makes it sound like...like the fact we're fighting back makes US the bad guys."

"Not to mention there are people out there that'll do anything for money." Jordan reminded them. "There'll probably be a few people tempted to try and claim that reward."

"This could be a good thing." Troy announced. The others just stared at him.

"Sorry, can you say that into my GOOD ear?" Jake asked him. "I thought you said that the fact we're now wanted pirates is a good thing."

"We're wanted criminals with dangerous weapons. A lot of people will be afraid of us." Troy reminded them. "That might encourage people to avoid our battles from now on."

"There'll hopefully be less casualties." Emma surmised. He just nodded. As Noah retrieved Tensou, he propped him up on the rock. The little metal parrot started to babble something.

"Great, you broke him." Noah reprimanded Troy, before Tensou just started swaying.

"The first of the keys reside beneath the waves,  
With the Sleeping Dragon within his Caves,  
The First Great Foe called him from his slumber,  
His master returned him there, during the Days of Thunder,  
He now lies within the Garden of the Seraphim."

The Rangers just stared at him.

"Um...OK, maybe you hit him harder than you thought." Jake suggested.

"No...I think...I think this is part of some of that extra stuff I programmed into Tensou...the stuff that's been a little temperamental." Jordan stated. "I gave him...I guess you could call it...precognition, it's a connection to the Ranger keys."

"A connection?" Gia asked him.

"OK look, when I lost the keys...when they scattered, I knew you'd need to find them." Jordan answered. "I tuned in some of Tensou's systems to the energy given off by the keys, to help him track them, but his programming, it's all kind of...scrambled."

"Well, I guess that explains the cryptic poetry stuff." Troy answered. "So if that's the location of some keys..."

"We just need to decipher the poem." Emma stated, looking around, finding a piece of paper and an old quill and ink well. She dipped the nib into the ink and started to scribble down some lines. "OK, he said something about a sleeping dragon..."

"No, first it was something about being under the waves." Gia corrected her. "Is there any way we can get Tensou to play it back?"

"I think I remember it." Noah told them. "The first keys reside beneath the waves..."


	6. The Garden of the Seraphim

In a flash of light, the Rangers' Megazord appeared in the sky, high over the clouds. Although they had intended to spend the day training, they knew that they didn't have much of a choice but to begin their search. Although their previous battle with The Commodore had yielded some measure of success, it was apparent that they were still greatly underpowered. They could defend themselves against The Armada's forces, sure, but they knew that taking on an army would take a lot more than a couple of swords and blasters. They were going to need all the power they could get, and it seemed that the Ranger keys were the answer to that.

As they made their way through the sky, Troy stood by the wheel, he locked it on course, and headed into the middle of the room as the others turned towards him.

"I teleported as close to the city as I dared." Noah told him. "I put us above cloud cover, so we should have a little while before we attract attention."

"Yeah, I guess a giant red pirate ship is going to cause a stir." Jake stated. "Are we sure we're even in the right place?" Emma fetched out the paper she had written Tensou's poem down on, and started to read.

"The first of the keys reside beneath the waves,  
With the Sleeping Dragon within his Caves,  
The First Great Foe called him from his slumber,  
His master returned him there, during the Days of Thunder,  
He now lies within the Garden of the Seraphim."

She looked up as she finished.

"The Garden of the Seraphim." She repeated. "In the bible, the Seraphim were the highest choir of angels..."

"And another word for garden is grove." Gia reminded him. Jake just sighed.

"Alright, Angel Grove, it sounds like a good place to start." Jake stated. "So is there any way we can narrow it down? I mean, 'residing under the waves', that just means underwater. In case you didn't notice, Angel Grove is a coastal town! That's a lot of land to cover."

"The First Great Foe." Troy chipped in. "That's obviously a reference to Rita Repulsa, that just confirms that it's here, but Days of Thunder?"

"Sorry, that's lost on me." Emma said, shaking her head. Noah just shrugged.

"Hey, I'm 17, it was before I was born." He reminded Troy. He looked around them and just sighed.

"I really wish Jordan was here." He remarked. Jordan had been a major Ranger nerd, even before he was taken to The Library. Just like Troy, he had spent much of his youth moving from city to city, but as a kid Jordan had spent a lot of his time collecting all the Ranger magazines, comics and memorabilia General Edwards would allow him to buy. If anyone on the team would know about a Ranger team from the past, it would be him. He probably wouldn't even need to look it up in The Library. "OK, so...maybe someone in the city knows."

"So what are we meant to do?" Jake asked, fetching out the Ranger key to his pirate powers. "Walk up to random people and start asking, hey, have you seen keys like this? They're about this size, could be anywhere in the city...oh, and they're probably underwater somewhere!"

"Do you have a better idea?" Emma asked, shrugging. Troy just gestured to the screen.

"Whatever we're doing, it'll have to wait." Troy told them. "It looks like we have a welcoming committee."

"The Commodore said he's setting up barracks all over the world." Noah remarked, looking at the flotilla of ships before them. "I guess he's as good as his word on that part."

"Well, I guess we have to learn how these Zords work the old fashioned way." Troy stated with a smile, patting Noah on the shoulder. He headed back to his console, morphing as he did so. He took the wheel as the others followed suit. "Alright guys, let's give them a show!"

Out in the air, the first of The Armada Ships picked up something on its scanners.

"Unidentified aircraft, you are entering restricted airspace." The droid officer announced. "Unidentified aircraft, you are entering restricted airspace, identify yourself and await an escort."

"That's OK; we'll make our own flight path." Troy called back.

"The Rangers!" The Officer replied, signalling to his crew. "You, contact The Commodore and inform him of this development. The rest of you, prepare to engage!"

The Red Ship flew through the air towards the fleet as fighters started to swarm into view. Troy just looked to Jake.

"Bring out the guns." He instructed him. "Fire at will."

Cutting a path through the air, the forward cannon ripped through the vanguard, sending burning wreckage tumbling through the air into the ocean. A couple of fighters slipped through their first salvo, firing on the ship.

"The armour's holding up." Noah informed Troy.

"Ramming speed." Troy called out. The others looked at him for a moment, realising he was serious, before continuing. The ship barged through the fighters, sending a few more into the sea.

As the ship powered through, they unleashed the combined power of the cannon down both sides, ripping through more of the fleet. Jake checked the scanners.

"There are five left." He told Troy. "They have heavier firepower though."

"Well, we do as well don't we?" Troy asked him, flicking out his Ranger key. "Let's see what these other Zords can do."

"Uh...Troy?" Noah interrupted him. "Not all of them can fly."

"They can in Megazord mode." Troy answered. "Let's bring them together!"

They all paced their keys in the control console, turning them to begin the transformation sequence. The officer aboard the main ship watched as the deck of the red ship opened up, and the Zords started to rise up out of it. A large, yellow, tractor trailer raised out of it, only for the top of it to open and a large green racing car to raise up. Next was a pink submarine, and the last, a blue fighter jet. The others just stared at the screen.

"OK, WHAT THE HELL?" Noah called out. "I just spent a freaking year piloting a submarine! Why the hell did Jordan give me a jet?"

"Hey, I got the submarine after a year of piloting a jet!" Emma reminded him. Jake sighed.

"OK, and now my Zord's smaller than Gia's?" He asked. She just sniggered.

"It's not the size; it's what you do with it that counts!" She teased him. "OK, are we doing this?"

They continued the transformation sequence, causing all the zords to fly off, taking up their positions. Jake's green zord formed up the left arm, while Noah's jet formed up the right, connecting with the hull of the Red Galleon. The Yellow and Pink Zords became its left and right legs respectively, as the bow of the ship opened up, revealing its head. The bow ram split in two and broke off, forming into two cutlasses that found their way into the Megazord's hands.

"That...that is...pretty SWEET!" Jake called out. "I almost don't mind the green thing!"

Troy fired up some jets, steadying the Megazord in the air as it faced off against the remaining ships. Flying through, it carved through four of them, causing them to disappear in massive explosions, raining wreckage down into the bay below. They faced off against the remaining two ships.

"Now this...this I could get used to!" Gia remarked.

"I have a feeling it's about to get better!" Troy told them, activating his Ranger key. "Let's finish this off, really send a message!"

As they did so, compartments in the arms and legs opened up, revealing rows of cannon balls with the Rangers' logo on them. The chest opened up, and a massive cannon sprouted forth. The officer on the bridge of the main ship saw this.

"Relay a message to the Commodore." He stated. "Tell him..."

The Rangers opened fire, blowing apart the remaining two ships. Troy and the others just stared in amazement.

"Wow...um...OK, that was awesome!" Noah stated. "It'll take a while to get used to, but..."

"The Commodore's been sent a message, but now he knows we're here." Troy reminded them. "Let's land this thing in the bay. We can decide what we're doing from there."

As the Zords recalled back into the Red Galleon, they set their course for the harbour.

Elsewhere, The Commodore was sitting in the Oval Office, overseeing repairs when one of his attendants came in, handing him a device. As he read the report, Zack noticed the shift in his face and smiled.

"Problem?" He asked.

"It seems that your friends have decided to pay a visit to your old home town." He remarked, looking to Zack. "Can you think of any reason why they would want to go there?"

"The beach is pretty decent." Zack suggested with a shrug. "They have pretty kick-ass seafood. There's this little shack on the bay..."

"I was under the impression you knew that staying on my good side and being cooperative was a good idea." The Commodore stated dryly. "Perhaps I have been too accommodating."

"I can't tell you what I don't know." Zack responded.

"Perhaps I should ask someone else then?" He suggested. "Perhaps I should bring Alisha..."

"Leave my daughter out of this!" Zack interrupted him. "She's seven years old; she's only been to Angel Grove to see her grandparents! She doesn't even know what street they live on!"

"If you don't want me to ask her, then perhaps you should think a little harder." The Commodore suggested. "What could they want in Angel Grove?"

"I don't know." Zack replied. "You just turned them into public enemy number one, and Angel Grove is kind of the capital city of the Ranger phenomenon. The world's biggest Ranger museum is there. Maybe they figure they can get some public support there."

"That's better." The Commodore replied with a smile, fixing Zack's jacket and straightening his tie. "I thought you just needed a little moment to think about it."

He turned to some of his robots.

"Prepare a squadron, and my personal transport." He instructed the robot. "It seems fitting they've chosen where the Ranger Legend began to end it."

Back in Angel Grove, The Red Galleon lowered into the bay, sending a wave onto the dock. They dropped their anchors into the harbour, and swung down onto the dock on zip lines. Troy watched as several dock workers marvelled at the ship.

"I guess Jordan never intended this thing for covert missions." Troy surmised.

"So should one of us remain with the ship?" Jake suggested. Noah just looked at him. "Well...it does kind of stand out. What if someone tries to...?"

"Tries to what? Jack it?" Gia asked him. "Jake, it's a highly advanced weapons system, not a station wagon."

"Only we can pilot this thing." Troy assured him. "No one without a morpher can use it. I think we're safe."

"Now all we have to worry about is finding the keys." Gia stated.

"Is anyone else a little concerned about the fact we...you know...have a huge price on our heads and everything?" Noah asked. Troy just smiled.

"We're pirates." He stated. "What do we care?"

As Troy headed towards the city, Noah just shook his head.

"He is enjoying this way too much." He responded as they followed him. Troy made his way to the nearest news stand, he found the man there reading a paper. He obviously did most of his business when the dock workers arrived at the start of each shifts, so he didn't seem to have anything to do. Troy put a hand on the paper and pulled it down so he could see him.

"Hi, I'm looking for some information." Troy told him. The man just looked to Troy, then to the newspapers' front page, then back to Troy. He could see by the way the man's mouth was moving, wordlessly flapping; he was astounded to see them. Troy confirmed that the front page of every paper was carrying their pictures and news of the reward on them.

"Personally, I wish they'd use a better picture." Troy stated. He saw the man had a camera phone. "Would you mind?"

The man just nodded, before dutifully taking pictures of each of the Rangers. Troy then looked to him.

"Alright, those pictures should be worth something to you." He stated. "So, we need to learn about the Ranger teams that operated out of Angel Grove. Something about them might lead us to something important. Can you suggest where we might learn about them?"

"Um...this is Angel Grove." The man told him, gesturing to the side. There was a whole rack dedicated to tourist maps, all of them declaring themselves the ultimate guide to the Ranger related sites in the city. "There are Ranger sites, museums and historians all over the city."

"So which one would YOU say is the most reliable?" Noah asked him. "We don't have all day."

"This one boasts the largest collection of Ranger memorabilia in the world." He stated. "The place is run by some guy named Stone. He runs city tours every couple of hours."

"Then I guess that's as good a place to start as any." Troy told him. "Oh...I'd appreciate it if you wait at least five minutes before you call..."

"No worries." The newsagent said with a smile. "I've always been a huge Ranger fan. These pictures should get me more than enough to get over any heat this should draw."

"Thanks." Troy answered as they walked away. He started to unfold the map.

"OK, we're about six blocks from the museum." He told them. "Damn it, there's an admittance fee, twenty bucks a head. Does anyone have any cash?"

"I've got this." Jake told him, pulling a jewelled dagger out of his boot. "Think a pawn shop will give us enough for the admittance and some lunch?"

"I think if they're playing straight, that should be enough to put all of our GRANDKIDS through college." Emma told him, taking the dagger off him.

"Well, that's what the piggy bank's for." Troy answered. "Let's go find a pawn shop."

A little over an hour later, the Rangers walked into the museum. Troy went to the desk to purchase the tickets.

"Five for the next city tour." He told the woman at the desk. She just smiled.

"You're in luck today sir." She told him. "Mr Stone is leading the tour personally."

"Mr Stone?" Troy asked. This was the second time in the day he had heard this name. "I guess I am in luck."

"Feel free to take a look around in the meantime." She told him. "The tour will begin in..."

She paused as she got a look at Troy's face.

"I'm sorry...have we met?" She asked him. "You look really familiar."

"I just have one of those faces." Troy answered, handing her the money and taking his tickets. He made his way into the museum, followed by the Rangers. He smiled as he saw the assortment of exhibits before them.

"Well, I guess someone loves us." Jake stated, making his way to a display case. It showed mock-ups of some of the Rangers' weapons, zords, and even some of their enemies. There were even some cases displaying highly detailed mock-ups of some of their most famous battles.

"It looks that way." Troy told him.

"I really wish we had more time to look around." Emma stated.

"Hey guys, check this out." Gia called out. They all came over to a display case she was standing beside and looked in on it. She pointed to the plaque. "It says this was the first Green Rangers' personal Zord, the Dragonzord." Jake pulled in closer to read the rest.

"Originally called and given to the Green Ranger by Rita Repulsa when he was under her control...the Dragonzord served the Rangers until the Green Ranger left the team." He began reading. "It was briefly called by Goldar to attack the city, but the Rangers and their new Thunderzords defeated him, and the Green Ranger sent the Dragon Zord back to the depths of Angel Grove harbour. It hasn't been called since the Green Ranger disappeared and was replaced by the White Ranger. Many believe it may still exist hidden somewhere under the ocean, but no one has ever found it."

"The first keys reside beneath the waves, with the Sleeping Dragon within his Caves." Emma repeated the first lines of the poem. "The Dragon Zord's been dormant for years under Angel grove Harbour."

"The First Great Foe called him from his slumber, his master returned him there during the Days of Thunder." Jake continued. "Rita called the Dragon Zord first, then the Green Ranger returned him to the harbour when the Rangers were using the Thunder Zords."

"OK, so we know what we're looking for." Troy stated.

"That still leaves the small matter of how we find it." Noah answered. "Angel Grove Harbour is pretty big..."

"How hard can it be to find a one hundred foot, eighty ton dragon?" Jake asked.

"Well, no one else has." Emma reminded him.

"Then maybe we can narrow down the search slightly." Troy replied as a man in a suit came out. "It looks like our tour group is starting up."

As they got to the group, they pushed their way to the front. The man before them smiled as he greeted them.

"Good afternoon, my name is Jerome Stone." He introduced himself. "I was once a lieutenant with the Angel Grove Police Department, and during my time serving with the department, I saw a great many of the Rangers' battles. I am considered one of the finest Ranger historians in the city. Still, enough about me, are there any questions before we begin?"

"Do you know where the Dragon Zord is?" Jake asked. Everyone just looked at him. Mr Stone just smiled.

"There's one in every group." He chuckled. "No, but I can show you where it surfaced when it was called, it's one of the sites on the tour. Nice coat by the way."

"Thanks." Jake replied as Mr Stone turned to the door.

"Alright, try to keep up, and I'll let you know when you can ask questions." He told the tour group. "It's funny you should mention the Dragon Zord, one time I was in my patrol car, and it almost stepped on my vehicle...!"

Gia slapped Jake across the back of the head.

"OW!" He called out. "What was that for?"

"If he knew where it was, don't you think it'd be in the museum?" Gia asked him. "Come on, let's go. Maybe if you listen, he'll tell us something useful."

**A/N: **OK, by the looks of it, pretty much everyone got the clue. I guess if I'm going to make a game of this, I'll have to try harder with future clues. Hope you all enjoyed it, and I'll try and have the next chapter up soon.


	7. The New Keys

The Commodore was standing on the bridge of his personal transport, pacing impatiently as his crew piloted the craft towards Angel Grove. He could still feel the anger, the humiliation of his injuries at the hands of the upstart Red Ranger. Not once, but twice now, Troy had managed to get through his guard and scar his face, to blemish his perfection and invincibility. His blood boiled just thinking about it. The only thing that gave him any solace, any kind of respite from the anger was the delightful thoughts of what he would do to the Rangers when he finally had them in his grasp again. He had been far too kind before. He had merely held them, taunted them about his intention to make an example of them, but he had planned to be merciful and execute them quickly.

On that day, Gosei's interference had led to them escaping, giving some of the humans hope. He now knew that the Rangers had arrived in Angel Grove, but that wasn't the most troubling thing for him. What genuinely vexed him was that there had not been one call to the authorities. Not one person had called in to report a sighting. No one had passed along information in an attempt to claim the bounty on their heads. He was positive that some people, having seen a new Ranger team possibly believed that they could find a way to free them, to eventually drive The Armada from the planet and reclaim their world. It was a hope he had every intention of crushing underfoot. As for the Rangers...they'd had their chance at a merciful end. When he got his hands on them again, he would make an example of them, and leave no one in any doubt as to exactly what would happen to anyone that crossed him.

"Sir, there's a transmission for you." One of his officers told him. The Commodore just sighed.

"I'll take it in my quarters." He told them. "Maintain course. Inform me when we're ready to land."

As he made his way into his quarters, he activated the communications link, but only the audio. He didn't need to see his employers to know how unhappy they would be with his performance. They had already reprimanded him for his failures before, and he could do without the humiliation of having them stare at his scarred face again.

"What happened to the image?" One of his superiors asked. The Commodore just shook his head.

"I'm sorry; my transport ship was damaged in the recent attacks." He lied to his superiors. "The engineers have brought up the audio, but I'm afraid the video is off-line at the moment."

"How long will it be until you find the Rangers?" One of the voices asked.

"We will be in Angel Grove shortly." He replied. "They will be within our grasp by the end of the day."

"Be sure that they are." He responded. "Further failure may result in...Demotion."

The Commodore just tensed up hearing that. He had never failed his masters before. He was one of the most powerful warriors in the galaxy, and had taken hundreds of worlds for them, some of them he had all but taken single-handed. He had earned every one of his distinctions with blood; to see them taken away was unthinkable.

"I will send you word when I succeed." He replied as the link went dead. He made his way back out to the bridge.

"Sir, we're here." One of the droids told him. The Commodore just smiled.

"I'll assemble a landing force." He told them. "Keep my transport in the air. I will call if I need assistance. I want to take care of these pirates personally."

Back on the ground in Angel Grove, the Rangers followed the tour group, losing enthusiasm with each and every step. Although they knew that they would have to gather the powers and abilities of past teams, and were positive they needed to learn more about their predecessors to acquire that power, they were having the limits of their patience tested.

Angel Grove was easily the world capital of Ranger activity. Not only had it been the home city of the very first Ranger team, it had also played host to a total of FOUR teams! The Mighty Morphing team, the Alien Rangers, the Zeo Rangers, the Turbo Rangers and even the ill-fated Space Rangers had all lived and fought mainly in Angel Grove. As they found out very quickly, virtually every inch of Angel Grove had some form of historical significance to the Rangers or been the site of some battle or other. There were signs all over the place marking where a number of events had happened, both major, like the city plaza where the Space Rangers revealed their identities to the world, to the completely mundane, such as a lemonade stall whose boast was that the Blue Alien Ranger had once been thrown through his cart, and still kept some of the damaged equipment as an exhibit. The tour was, to put it diplomatically, very comprehensive. That was to say...it was annoyingly over-detailed, stopping every few feet to show some other "historic site".

"OK, I can't be the only one who's bored." Jake muttered.

"I think even Jordan would be bored to tears by now." Noah agreed. "My feet are killing me!"

"I'm all for history and everything, but this is ridiculous." Gia grumbled. "Can't we just skip to the bit we want to see?"

"We're almost at the harbour." Emma chimed in, checking her map. Having been used to hiking for most of her life, she was the only one who wasn't getting fed up of all the walking. She had started to tune out all the lectures about each of the sites, instead keeping track of where they were and how long it would be until they got back to the docks. "I'm sure it can't be much farther."

"Alright, and here's the site I know this group at the back has been wanting to see all morning!" Mr Stone said with a smile as he took them through a chain-link fence. "This old steel mill may not look much, but it marks the closest known location to the resting site of the lost Dragonzord."

"This is it." Noah said with a smile as the Rangers gathered around.

"The Dragonzord, when called, would rise up from the coast just over there, and come through the steel works." Mr Stone continued. "On two occasions, it was controlled with evil intent, and caused considerable damage here. That smoke stack is actually the third, the previous two actually being eaten by..."

"This is it?" Troy asked him. "This is where the Dragonzord is?"

"Well...it's somewhere beneath the harbour not far from here yes." Mr Stone said with a smile. "Many efforts have been made to locate it, but so far no one has been successful..."

"Thanks, this is where we get off the tour." Troy told him. "OK, we know where to start looking."

"Yeah, there's still one issue." Noah answered. "There's still the small matter of it being hundreds of feet below the water."

"It's just as well we have a submarine then isn't it?" Troy asked. "Emma, call your Zord. Noah...you have the most experience with submarines, you go with her."

"What about the rest of us?" Jake asked him. Troy just sighed.

"We'll keep a lookout up here." Troy answered. "I have a feeling it won't be too long before we have company."

Elsewhere in the city, The Commodore and his landing party were making their way along the waterfront, having picked up some energy signatures. It wasn't long before they found the Red Galleon. As he made his way over, he saw a hobo coming towards him, completely covered in filthy clothing.

"Please sir, do you have any spare..."

The Commodore just shoved him roughly into the harbour, inspecting the Galleon as he smiled.

"Well, I suppose they are here after all." He remarked.

"Sir, shall we...?"

"Don't bother trying to board it." He interrupted one of his robotic followers. "It'll no doubt be booby trapped. The Rangers may be bold, but I doubt they'd be foolish enough to leave weapons out in the open without securing them."

Just then, the Galleon opened up, and they watched as the pink submarine rose out of it, before entering the water. They watched it start to make its way through the water. The Commodore just shook his head.

"You're making this too easy Red Ranger." He commented. "Come, follow me."

Further along the docks, the Rangers watched the Pink Submarine come into view, with the tour group all standing behind them. Troy just looked to the tour group, his brows furrowed.

"Don't you have a tour to lead?" He asked. Mr Stone just nodded. "Well...?"

"We won't get in the way." He stated, looking somewhat disappointed. The rest of the group reluctantly moved away with him as the Rangers watched the submarine docking.

"Something tells me they know who we are." Jake said with a smile.

"We're on every newspaper and TV station." Noah reminded him with a shrug. "I guess...everyone knows who we are."

"It's not like we were trying to hide either." Gia chimed in. As Emma and Noah morphed and got onto the submarine, they heard some splashing in the water.

"Hey, check it out!" Noah called out, making his way down a ladder. The hobo The Commodore had thrown into the harbour had clung onto the submarine to stay afloat. It had dragged him all the way here.

"Hey, this isn't a good place to take a swim." Jake told him, offering the man a hand.

"Thank you..."

"If you want to thank us, just get going." Gia told him. "We've got a lot of work to do here."

The hobo just slunk away into the complex as Noah and Emma got into the submarine.

"Keep in contact!" Troy called after them as the submarine sank beneath the waves.

"So what do we do now?" Gia asked him.

"I guess we wait." Troy sighed. Just then, they heard some footsteps behind them, and turned to see The Commodore arriving with dozens of x-bots. He drew his sword as he locked eyes with Troy.

"You know, for being wanted pirates you really are making it way too easy to find you." The Commodore stated. "The only reason I can think of you would bring that huge red ship all the way out to the Ranger capital in broad daylight instead of crawling into the deepest, darkest hole you can find is that you're...looking for something."

"What business is that of yours?" Gia asked him.

"I suppose it's not any of my business." The Commodore replied. "Of course, I am curious by nature."

"Get them into cover!" Jake called over to Stone. He didn't need to be told twice, leading them into one of the warehouses into cover.

As he brought up his sabre, the robots rushed towards the three Rangers. They all went for their morphers.

"At least it's not going to be a boring day." Troy said as they morphed, bringing up his sword and pistol. "Where do you want THIS scar Commodore?"

At the bottom of the harbour, Noah and Emma were cruising through the water, unaware of the battle going on over their heads. Noah kept checking the scanners while Emma looked out through the windows.

"You're so lucky." She said, looking around. "You got to see things like this all year."

"I do miss the Shark Zord." He admitted. "I'm kind of looking forward to getting to try out that new jet though."

"It's all so beautiful down here." Emma mused. "I always spent so much time in the woods, I didn't think about all the things that live down here."

"Two thirds of the world is down here." Noah reminded her. "If they're still finding new undiscovered species up there, just try to imagine what could be down here..."

His words were cut off as the scanners started to register something.

"Noah, what is that?" She asked him.

"I don't know, but it wasn't there before." He told her. "It's like it just...appeared."

"How?" Emma asked.

"I don't know, but it...wait...this doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't?" Emma asked him.

"According to the scans, it's on the other side of that rock face." He told her. Emma just studied it for a moment.

"No wonder nobody could find the Dragon Zord." She stated. "It's buried."

"Well...we are pirates I guess." Noah stated. "Buried treasure does kind of fit."

"So let's dig it up then." She replied as she opened fire with the torpedoes. The cloud of dust started to dissipate, revealing a cave. They piloted the zord through the opening.

"It's dark." Noah said as he looked for the control to the lights. Bringing up the full-beam, both Noah and Emma jumped in fright as they saw a massive set of steel jaws before them.

"OK, I think we can safely say that's it." Emma said, holding her hand over her chest. Noah checked the readings.

"The power readings are from the Zord alright." He commented. "It's like someone turned it on...but why would anyone do that?"

"Well, just be grateful they did." Emma answered. "If it wasn't for that, who knows how long it would take us to find the Dragonzord."

"Troy, we found it." Noah announced over the communicator. He heard the unmistakable sounds of combat in the background. "Troy!"

"Its fine, we'll hold out here!" Troy told him. "Just get the keys, we'll hold things here."

"We can come back..."

"Noah, just get the keys!" Troy interrupted him as he shielded himself from a hail of blasts. Noah just looked to Emma.

"It sounds like they're in trouble." He informed her.

"Then the sooner we get those keys, the sooner we can help them." She answered.

Back on the dock, Troy, Gia and Jake were doing what they could to keep The Commodore's forces at bay. They were making an impressive dent in his squadron, but just when they seemed to be getting the upper hand, they saw a ship coming overhead.

"OK, this doesn't look good." Jake remarked as the Commodore's transport started to hover overhead. They saw the weapons powering up. "Hit the deck!"

High power blasts ripped through the iron works as the Rangers sought cover. The Commodore just started to laugh.

"What's the matter pirates? No witty comebacks?" He asked. "What happened to all those promises of what you were going to do to me?"

"It's not over yet Commodore!" Troy told him as the Rangers rounded a corner and opened fire. The Commodore deflected their shots, before throwing a power wave back at them. The Rangers were all thrown to the ground.

"OK, so what's the plan?" Jake asked.

"Something along the lines of get the hell out of here." Gia answered.

"No, we can't leave without what we came for!" Troy told them. "Until Emma and Noah get back, we keep fighting!"

"So be it." The Commodore answered with a smile as the transport ship opened fire once more. The Rangers scattered as they looked for some refuge from the assault. They watched as more robots dropped from the ship.

"OK, whatever they're doing down there, they better hurry up." Jake stated.

Back beneath the depths, Emma helped Noah into the cockpit of the Dragonzord. They looked around in amazement.

"All the systems are still on." Noah told her. "Do you think this thing still works?"

"I guess there's no reason why not." Emma answered with a shrug. "But that isn't what we're here for. We need to find..."

"I think I have it." Noah told her, reaching underneath the control panel. He lay down on the floor to get a better look, before finally pulling the keys free. He smiled as he pulled himself out from under the console, and showed them to Emma. "There...isn't that beautiful! Six keys!"

"Six keys." She stated, before looking to him. "So...what about this thing?"

"We can't take it with us." Noah told her. "There's no room on the ship."

"Well, we can't risk it being used against us." She stated. "You heard that tour guide, it's happened twice before!"

"Then there's only one answer I guess." Noah sighed as he looked around. "I would have loved to see this thing in a museum."

"Me too." She admitted. "I'll get the engine running on my Zord. You take care of the self-destruct."

As she headed out the door, Noah started to get to work, setting the timer.

Back on the docks, Troy, Gia and Jake found themselves facing an uphill struggle. They crashed to the ground, de-morphing as they landed. The Commodore signalled his robots to line up before them.

"So, is this where you bring us in?" Troy asked him.

"I only want you!" He replied, pointing at Troy. "I only need one public execution, the others...I can just have them face a firing squad here."

Before they could fire though, the hobo ran out of cover, standing between the Commodore's droids and the Rangers. The Commodore roared in frustration.

"Worthless wretch...get out of the way!" He called out to him. The Hobo just reached inside his clothing, before throwing something at the robots. Half of them fell to the ground, destroyed, at which he started running.

"Get him!" The Commodore screamed as they pursued him. He stood before the Rangers.

"I suppose I'll just have to do this myself!" He told them. "Don't worry Troy; their deaths will be much quicker than I have planned for you!"

His pistol was blown from his hand, and another blast hit him in the chest, heralding the arrival of Emma and Noah. They ran to their friends' side, helping them up.

"Sorry it took so long." Emma told them. "The harbour's bigger than we thought."

"Well, at least you're here." Gia answered as they morphed. The Commodore just pulled out his sabre.

"Three or five, I'll still take you all down!" He told them. "I've seen every trick you have now!"

"Really?" Troy asked him, holding up a new key. "Let's see if you've seen this one!"

The Rangers put their keys into their morphers, and turned them, The Commodore just watched in shock as they were bathed in light. The tour group all came out of their hiding places, unable to believe their eyes.

"It can't be!" The Commodore gasped. Standing before him was the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers.


	8. The Return of Mighty Morphin'

The Commodore stood, dumbfounded as he saw the Rangers before him. Troy and the others took a moment to take in their new costumes.

As for the Rangers, each of them felt incredible with the new transformation. The transformation came with far more than just a change of outfit and weaponry. They could all feel their minds being filled with new knowledge. The transformation gave them not just the powers of the first Ranger team, but a full knowledge of their equipment and powers. It gave them the information of how to use it.

"We...we did it, we actually did it!" Noah said, running his hands over his triceratops themed helmet with a smile. Although the MMPR team had been active before he was born, he knew who they were. Their popularity was such that merchandise had still been available when his parents bought him his first toys, and he could still remember seeing action figures on a stall at a flea market as recently as the previous summer.

"The change...it gave us a power boost!" Gia commented.

"Not to mention I got my colour back!" Jake added. "Back in Black baby!"

"I guess each transformation has its own power store." Emma added. Troy pulled out his blade blaster, holding his Power Sword over his shoulder.

"I guess that's good to know." Troy announced. They rushed into battle, attacking The Commodore in a frenzy, much to the delight of the tour group. The Commodore was smashed into a wall by Jake's Snake axe, and struggled to regain his bearings and get back into the battle, but he was taken off his feet by a combined blast from their blade blasters.

The Rangers all lined up, watching The Commodore screaming in fury as he realised the position he was in. He was facing off against all five of them, without support.

"Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Noah asked them. They all look to Jake, who nodded as he led them off.

"Power Axe!" He called out, sliding open the mechanism and throwing his weapon into the air.

"Power Bow!" Emma yelled, throwing her bow into the mix.

"Power Daggers!" Gia added, throwing her daggers, latching them onto the bow.

"Power...Lance? Really?" Noah said, shrugging as he threw the larger dagger weapons into the air. "Well...who am I to argue?"

"Power Sword!" Troy yelled as he leapt into the air, pacing his sword on top, latching it in place as he came down to the ground. They all aimed the weapon at The Commodore just as he got to his feet.

"Hey, this thing's kind of like our old blaster!" Jake remarked. "They ripped us off!"

"Twenty years earlier?" Gia answered, rolling her eyes. "I think you'll find we ripped them off."

"Can we concentrate guys?" Noah said as they assembled behind the weapon, touching Troy's shoulders, lending him their energy. The Commodore braced for impact as they fired off the blaster, sending him smashing through the chain link fence and into the street behind them. He picked himself up, throwing off his burning coat.

"We will continue this another day Rangers!" He called in response, teleporting onto his transport ship as they watched him leave, showering the area in power blasts.

"Come on guys, he's getting away!" Troy announced as they turned back into their pirate mode, turning to head after him. He pulled out his morpher. "This is our chance! We can..."

"Troy!" Emma screamed, grabbing him before he could go. "What about the hobo?"

"What?" He asked.

"He led those robots away!" She reminded him. "He needs our help!"

"But Emma, he's getting away..."

"And we'll get another chance at him!" She yelled at her boyfriend. "That guy might not!"

Troy looked reluctantly between the transport ship disappearing into the distance and Emma. He really wanted to go after The Commodore, to finish him off for good. What did one life matter when he could potentially save by eliminating him now that he was in retreat?

As he looked to Emma, he couldn't believe he was even thinking that. Every life mattered. Someone had been willing to risk his life to help them out, to save them in their moment of need.

"He went that way." Troy stated, rushing off the last direction they had last seen him heading, running into the steel works. They all skidded to a halt, somewhat surprised by what they saw.

"Um...is anyone else feeling a little surplus to requirement right now?" Noah asked as they watched the hobo dismantling the robots with practiced ease. In one hand, he was holding a bright green dagger, which was glowing with energy as he swung around, beheading the last of them, before kicking it to the floor.

"OK, I'm going out on a limb here and saying that this guy isn't a hobo." Jake remarked as they got closer. Emma just smiled as she de-morphed.

"I have that feeling too." She stated. "And I'm guessing you had something to do with the Dragonzord's systems reactivating, allowing us to find it. Am I right?"

"You are as perceptive as Kimberly was." The hobo answered, pulling down his hood. He had short, soft brown hair, and was wearing a set of thick glasses. He looked to Noah, and smiled. "I have to say, it is decidedly unusual seeing my old suit on someone other than me."

"Your old...?" Noah started to say, before his eyes shot open wide. "You were the Blue Ranger?"

"Billy Cranston." He introduced himself as he shook Noah's hand. The others de-morphed as they crowded around him. "Gosei told me about the Ranger keys. I came to this planet undercover when Tensou figured out where the first Ranger Keys were. For what it's worth, I think our old powers have ended up in good hands."

"Wait...you don't have any powers...how did you...?"

"Trust me; I don't need powers to take care of those robots. The training droids I practice against on Aquitar are much tougher." He told them as he looked to the wreckage. "But this helped."

"The Dragon Dagger." Noah gasped, looking to the weapon in Billy's hands.

"Tommy let me take it to Aquitar for safe keeping. There wasn't enough power in it for me to summon the Dragonzord without my powers." Billy told them. "But when I saw you arriving, I knew I could turn on enough of the systems for you to trace its signal."

"So, it's you we have to thank for the new powers." Troy surmised. Billy just nodded.

"I might have helped you find them, but you were the ones that figured out how to use them." Billy told them. "And now that I've seen what you have to offer, I know you're ready for the full extent of the power in those keys."

He handed Troy the Dragon Dagger, at which all six of the new Ranger keys started to glow brightly. They pulled them out, staring them in awe.

"No matter how long the powers have been inactive, they're always closely tied to those that used them before. You may find the keys, and access some of the powers, but to utilise the full range of those abilities, the team has to be willing to part with them."

"And...you just did that?" Jake asked him. Billy just nodded.

"Like I said, I saw for myself the powers are in good hands." He told them. "I'm sure the others would agree."

"Wait; there are only five keys here." Noah stated as he showed them to Billy. "Red, Black, Blue, Yellow and Pink...wasn't there other Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers?"

"I guess the Green and White Ranger powers are still out there." He answered with a shrug. "But Tommy's had so many colours now; it's becoming a running joke. I've got my money on him becoming the first male Pink."

"There's...um...there's actually been a male Pink." Emma informed him. "One of the Samurai...um...we met him last year."

"Let this be a lesson in the folly of gambling." Billy sighed, handing over two hundred dollars. "If you see Jason, tell him I owe him that."

"Wait...where are you going?" Troy asked him.

"I've done my part for now." Billy told them. "For now, I have a family to get back to. I know you'll be fine, but don't worry...I'm sure we'll meet again."

As he disappeared from view, Troy put the Dragon Dagger away. The Rangers all turned and started to walk away, heading for the Galleon.

"So, I guess that's one set of powers down." Troy announced. "That just leaves 17 to go."

"18 if you count the White and Green Ranger powers." Gia chipped in.

"So, let's get back on the ship and keep searching." Troy stated. As they got to the door of the steel works though, they found a huge crowd waiting for them. Stone and the tour group were there, but it seemed like the group had tripled in size.

"OK, I'm sure there are more here than last time." Gia commented.

"We called all our friends!" One of the women replied. "How often do we get to see real life Rangers these days?"

"And...none of you turned us in?" Jake asked. Stone just laughed.

"Angel Grove turning on the Rangers?" He asked derisively. "You may as well ask Philadelphia to melt down the Liberty Bell!"

"Can I have your autograph?" One of the kids called out, waving a notebook in front of him.

"I'm sorry, but we really need to be going." Troy stated.

"Oh come on, surely we can stay for a few minutes." Jake responded, taking the notepad from the kid.

"It can't hurt our public image." Gia added, taking out a pen. Troy just sighed and shook his head.

"Alright, but just for a few minutes, then we need to start looking for more keys." He told them as a woman approached him with one of his wanted posters and a pen.

Back on his transport ship, The Commodore was in his chambers, being fitted for a new great coat, while his superiors spoke to him over the communications link.

"You have failed us AGAIN!" One of them screamed at him. "How can five teenagers so easily defeat the man that decimated over one hundred worlds in our name?"

"Sir, I know I have failed you, but it was not my fault this time." He assured them. "The Rangers, they have new powers!"

"We know about the new powers already!" One of them yelled at The Commodore.

"No, it isn't just the new suits and weapons." He told them. "They turned into a completely different team!"

"A different team?" One of them asked.

"I believe it was the first Ranger team from Earth." He informed them. "They said they were in Angel Grove to find some kind of keys...then when they got them, they changed!"

"Such a power exists?" One of them asked. The Commodore smiled as he heard them discussing this in the background. He had piqued their interest with this new detail. He was beginning to think that perhaps he would avoid their punishment after all.

"We must find out more about this new power." One of them told him. "You will keep your position for now, but it is clear that perhaps you have been left a little...short on resources."

"I would gratefully accept any help you are willing to give." He replied reverently. "I await your orders."

Back on the Galleon, the Rangers gathered around the table to celebrate their recent victory. They had managed to prepare quite a feast, but they had a huge budget to work with after visiting the pawn shop. Troy poured himself another drink as Jake leaned back in his chair with a huge grin on his face.

"I still can't believe it; we actually got to be the original Power Rangers!" Jake said with a huge grin. "I thought when The Commodore had us cornered, we were goners for sure!"

"I have to admit, you guys were cutting it a little fine there." Gia said to Noah and Emma, grabbing a chicken drumstick from the table. "Next time try to not to be so dramatic about the rescue."

"We can't help it if the Dragonzord was well hidden." Noah grumbled.

"Yeah, good thing Billy helped us out." Emma stated. "If it hadn't been for him, we might not have found it on time."

"Alright guys, we have five new keys." Troy responded, looking to the keys on the table. "But there are more to find."

"Yeah, but we have Tensou and Jordan's locator programme right?" Jake replied, gesturing to the robotic parrot. "All we need are a few more of those poems and we'll be on our way!"

"Yeah, come on Tensou, how about hitting us with another poem?" Noah asked. The Rangers all looked to the little robotic parrot expectantly.

"Um...I..."

"Come on Tensou!" Emma said encouragingly.

"I...I can't." Tensou told them. They all just looked at each other curiously.

"What do you mean you can't?" Troy asked him. "You did it before!"

"Yeah, that's how we knew to go to Angel Grove!" Gia answered.

"I don't know...I can't access that software!" He told them. "It's like there's something blocking it! I'm sorry!"

"Well, we can worry about that later." Emma replied with a smile.

"Emma, are you serious?" Jake asked her. "We need to find..."

"We've got the first set, that means we're already in the lead right?" She reminded them. "Besides, until Tensou comes up with another poem does any of you have any idea where to start looking?"

"She's got a point I guess." Noah responded.

"So, what do we do in the meantime?" Noah asked.

"I guess we just have to find a way to fill the time." She responded.

"Hey Tensou!" Jake called out. "If you haven't got any poetry for us, how about some tunes instead?"

"I think I can handle that." He responded, cranking up some music.

"In the meantime, let me present the two most amazing words known to mankind." Jake said with a huge smile as he pulled a plate closer to himself. "Ice Cream!"


	9. The Second Poem

For five long days the Rangers found themselves on the Galleon with little to do. It was starting to get more than a little frustrating, since if they were honest, none of them had any real idea what to do or where to start looking for the Ranger keys, meaning they had nothing to do but wait until Tensou finally managed to access his locator programme and come up with another poem. They had hoped, however, that it wouldn't take quite so long. To put it bluntly, they were starting to get more than a little bored.

Emma flopped down onto the couch in the main room as Troy surveyed the map.

"I thought you were training with the others." He remarked without even looking up. She just sighed as she lay down wearily.

"I was, but they're exhausting even me." She told him. "Noah's really taking this new training to heart, he's barely let up in days."

"I guess he just wants to be ready when Tensou finally decides to give us a clue what we're meant to be doing." He muttered in response. Tensou just looked around as he heard this.

"I'm doing the best I can!" He protested. "This software, it's linked to systems Jordan wasn't able to properly save after my last body was destroyed, I can't help it if it's difficult to access."

"Every day we spend here doing nothing is a day wasted!" Troy snapped grumpily as he threw himself into an easy chair. "For all we know, they've figured out what we're doing and are on their way to the next keys as we speak."

"If that was the case, I'm sure Tensou would let us know." Emma replied as she gestured to a screen. "We all had the same thought, but he's been tracking the movements of The Armada's forces. They haven't made any significant moves other than standard patrols in days!"

"At least it gives us plenty of time to work on our skills." Jake stated as he and Noah came in, wiping themselves down with towels as they came in. "You should have seen Noah in that last round, he's really getting the hang of that sword technique."

"Well, they have made one significant move." Gia said as she came into the room, carrying a bag of groceries, setting them down. She pulled out a newspaper, showing it to them. "We're obviously getting to them."

"We've been upgraded?" Noah asked, looking at the new wanted posters on the front page. "Dead or Alive?"

"Just as well we've been practicing." Jake commented. "It sounds like they're not messing around anymore."

"Troy, they've added your latest attempted murder of The Commodore to the list of offences." Noah informed him. "Your reward's gone up to three and a half million."

"Mine's only two million." Gia said, not even trying to hide the fact she was proud of her new status as a wanted fugitive. "You too Emma, finding that key and giving us those powers...they're calling that treason."

"Can you be guilty of treason to a government you never swore fealty to?" She asked, checking out the poster. "At least they've got better pictures this time, I guess someone sold some of those pictures we had taken in Angel Grove."

"My reward's up to two million too." Noah said proudly.

"What about me?" Jake asked, smiling broadly. "What do they say about me? I bet my reward's gone up a ton!"

"Um...well..." Noah stammered.

"It has gone UP." Gia told him. Jake took the paper off them and looked to the picture.

"WHAT?" He screamed. One point two million? My reward only went up two hundred grand?"

"It reflects the new 'dead or alive' status." Gia explained. "Your...um...your list of offences hasn't actually increased."

"You're telling me that I'm considered the least...that I'm...man that SUCKS!"

"Cheer up." Noah said with a chuckle. "I'm sure you'll get the hang of this pirate stuff eventually."

"Maybe I will if that stupid bird gives us a clue to the Ranger keys!" He muttered.

"I told you, it's not like I can just pull these out of a hat!" Tensou protested again. "I'm sorry, I'm trying!"

"Damn it, this is so frustrating!" Troy grumbled. "We managed to get one victory, but The Armada's still out there! We're nowhere near ready to take them down!"

At that point, Tensou came flying across the room, and hit the table, scattering the dishes on it, before tumbling to the floor. The Rangers all rushed over to him.

"Tensou, Tensou!" Emma called out. "Are you alright? What happened? Speak to us!"

They turned around, seeing Jake standing by his perch, holding a hammer and looking somewhat guilty.

"JAKE!" They all yelled in unison.

"It worked the last time!" He protested. "I'm sorry, I couldn't think of anything else!"

"What if you'd broken him Jake?" Noah asked. "Tensou, are you...?"

"In the forest of the smilax, Seek the man in Black,  
He will light the way along a treacherous track,  
You will face a trial of body and mind,  
Before seeking the allegiance of the last of his kind."

Tensou just shook his head clear, before glaring at Jake angrily.

"Um...it worked." He pointed out. Tensou just flew at him, pecking his head repeatedly.

"It worked did it, well let's see how you like it!" He shrieked as he attacked. The other Rangers just turned away.

"Well, Jake was right about one thing, it did get us another poem." Gia remarked as they gathered around.

"Well that still leaves us one problem." Troy stated. "What does it mean?"

"Well...there is one thing I've got." Emma told them. "The poem said that we would find the Man in Black in the forest of smilax."

"So?" Troy asked.

"Smilax is a genus of a particular type of shrub. There are others, but they all live under the blanket term of briar." She continued. The others just stared at her, but she smiled. "I was a nature geek, remember?"

"The forest of smilax." Noah sighed. "Or wood of briar...Briarwood."

"Briarwood?" Gia asked. "That...that sounds really familiar. I feel like I should know that name."

"Well, maybe we can figure it out when we get there." Noah suggested, beginning to plot a course.

"Oh, and Gia?" Troy called over. "Pull Tensou off Jake will you? He ind of deserves it, but we will need him in one piece when we get there."

"Sure thing." Gia sighed as she made her way towards the screams in the back, where Jake was pleading his innocence in between pained shrieks. Troy turned his attention back to the wheel.

In the White House, The Commodore was busy going over reports from his patrols. He had been tasked with maintaining order on Earth in the stead of his masters, but right now, he was for the most part unconcerned with most matters of state. The only thing he was concerned with now was finding the Rangers.

He still had very little idea how they had accomplished it, but just when he had them beaten down, when he was inches away from defeating them, the Pink and Blue rangers had shown up with new keys for their morphers. They had turned into a whole different team, with different weapons, and a power boost just when they were on the verge of defeat.

He had been caught out before, caught unawares, and he was determined to make sure it didn't happen again. He had started to do some research, finding that the costumes they had changed into had once belonged to the very first team that had fought for the Earth almost twenty years previously. The residual energy readings picked up from the area showed that the signature was the same. Somehow, these new keys had given them all the powers and abilities of another team. He cursed Gosei for his trickery, just as he was sure he had destroyed the powers of all the Ranger teams, left them defenceless, Gosei had somehow found a way to protect them after a fashion. By containing the powers within those keys, he had somehow found a way to keep the powers from being destroyed, albeit limiting their use to being accessed by one set of morphers. Even if he wasn't going to see an army of Rangers coming after them, it was still a troubling development.

However, he had found in the whole incident and element that gave him cause for intrigue. So far, he had only seen them use this tactic once. They had only changed into one other team, and given the fact Emma and Noah had been separated from their team, only to return with the keys gave him reason to think that perhaps they'd had to find them. Perhaps, the other keys were still out there. If that was the case, then there were more powers for them to find. There were ways to flush them out into the open to finally crush them under heel. More importantly, there were ways to stop them gaining more powers to throw their way.

"Sir, your reinforcements have arrived." One of his attendants informed him. He just got up from his desk, and followed the attendant, making his way into a side room. He found Zack standing with the new arrivals.

Five of them were new types of droid, made of an icy blue metal upper half, over a dark gray lower abdomen and legs, with oversized forearms, extending beyond the elbow joint into long points, and with three clawed hands, housing blasters. They had sharp, angular faces that made them look fiercer and more frightening than the x-bots.

The other creature in the room was no robot, but appeared to be at least a cyborg. He was mostly purple, with red veins across most of them. His left arm was metallic, and had a number of pipes running from it. He approached The Commodore, standing before him.

"My Lord has sent me to assist you." The creature stated. "I am Salamandore. I served the empire on our campaign against Mercuria..."

"I believe we lost that campaign." The Commodore sighed.

"I performed admirably on all my missions." Salamandore stated proudly. "It was our misfortune to have a less than capable commander. Perhaps if you had been assigned to that campaign..."

"Flattery is appreciated, but unnecessary." He responded. "I see you brought some bruisers."

"It was felt that perhaps the X-bots could do with some heavier firepower." Salamandore replied. "I was sure you would approve..."

"Never let it be said I object to any assistance our superiors are willing to send us." He said to Salamandore, before turning to Zack. "Would you like some refreshments? I can have the 'President' here arrange for something to be brought in while we discuss our next..."

"Meat." Salamandore stated abruptly, looking to the former Black Ranger. Zack just tensed up. He was forced to endure this humiliation, not because he was scared of reprisals for himself, but because he knew his was not the only life that was under threat if he didn't comply.

"Would you like anything specific?" Zack asked him.

"Just...meat." Salamandore replied, waving him off. "And don't bother cooking it."

"I'll see what we have in stock." Zack told him, leaving the office. Another x-bot came into the room, handing him a report.

"We have a sighting of the Ranger Galleon." It informed him. The Commodore just looked to Salamandore and smiled.

"Well, it looks like it won't be too long before you get to show off those skills of yours." He stated, looking to the X-bot. "Prepare my personal transport. Keep track of the Rangers' location and set a course. We leave in ten minutes."

Over on the Red Galleon, Troy was on the bridge, steering the ship while the others looked out the portholes. They all seemed more than a little troubled as they inspected the area.

"OK, I know we've flown over this mountain before." Emma grumbled.

"We've flown over this area about four times now." Gia remarked. "Noah, I thought you knew where this place was."

"I...I thought I did...I checked all the navigation systems." Noah stated. "According to this, Briarwood should be right here!"

"Dude, I know I'm not the smartest guy in existence, but...there's nothing here." Jake told him. "It's just a straight road. I can see it from here. It's not like entire cities just up and disappear."

"The navigation system can't be wrong, I've set the co-ordinates by the planet's ley lines." Noah told him.

"Maybe...maybe you're both right." Gia suggested. They both looked at her. "I just figured out why I've heard the name Briarwood before."

"Where?" Troy asked her.

"I heard it from Cat." Gia told them.

"Your girlfriend?" Jake asked. "Gia, even you have to admit, she wasn't always playing with a full deck."

"No, but she knew what she wanted." Gia told them. "She wanted to take a road trip to Briarwood with me one day, when the Ranger business was over."

"Why?" Noah asked her. Gia smiled.

"She wanted to go there because she heard rumours that there was a dragon in Briarwood." She recalled, thinking of a happier time months ago when she was talking with Cat about their plans for after graduation. "She's obsessed with dragons, and she heard that there was a Ranger team in Briarwood that had a dragon."

"The Mystic Force team." Noah said with a smile as he looked up the details on the computer. "They operated out of Briarwood. It said here they used magic to face the forces of The Underworld."

"That still doesn't help us find a city that isn't there." Jake responded. Troy just looked to the map, seeing that the coordinates were right for where they were meant to be.

"Maybe we should take a closer look." He suggested, releasing the anchors. "Come on guys, let's take a look around."

A little while later, on the ground, the Rangers wandered around, looking for any signs of the city, but finding none. They hadn't heard of any cities being completely destroyed in the invasion, but they were sure that even if it had been levelled, there'd still be some signs of man-made structures.

The forest they found themselves in though, looked like they had never seen any trace of human interference in years. Emma was using all her years of tracking experience to try and find any sign of human life whatsoever. She sighed as she stood up straight.

"Man, this is hopeless, there's nothing here!" Jake muttered. "It feels like we've been walking around in circles for hours!"

"That's because we have." Emma told him, pointing to a tree. "We've passed that tree already."

"Hey, I think I've got something!" Noah stated, rushing over to a spot on the ground. He pointed to a footprint. "Hah, see, there's a boot print in the mud here!"

"It's Gia's." Emma told him. Noah just shook his head.

"No, it's way too big, it's got to be a guy's." He responded. "That looks like a size 10, maybe 11."

"It's mine." Gia replied. They all just stared at her as she crossed her arms defiantly. "Alright, I have big feet OK?"

"But we can't be walking around in circles." Jake stated. "We've all been walking the same direction. Moss always grows on the North side of a tree...how can we walk the same direction and still end up the same place?"

Troy picked up a horse chestnut, and threw it into the distance as hard as he could. Noah just rubbed the back of his head as something hit him.

"Hey!" He protested, looking around for the culprit. Emma took off running North, but a moment later arrived back behind them.

"OK, now that...that isn't natural." Jake stated.

"No, it's magical." Troy said with a smile. "What if they hid the city?"

"But...I thought all the Rangers lost their powers." Jake stated.

"They lost their Ranger Powers, but who's to say that they didn't keep any powers they had OTHER than their Ranger powers?" Noah asked him. "When we met the Samurai, they told me that their families had Symbol Power long before the Ranger Powers existed. Maybe that's the same with the magic users from Briarwood."

"So how exactly are we meant to find this man in black, when we can't even find the city?" Emma asked him. "How are we meant to find the Ranger Keys and take that power?"

"I knew all I had to do was follow you for a little while and you'd show your true colours." They heard a voice say. They all turned to see a man in a long, black cloak standing a little way off. He had a hood up, covering his face. "I guess I should have known what to expect from a bunch of pirates."

"The man in black." Jake whispered as he beheld the stranger.

"OK, so you found us." Troy told him. "Now, we're looking for..."

"I heard you, you're looking for the Ranger keys. You want our powers for yourself." The stranger interrupted him. "Sorry, but the power of the ancient Mystic Warriors is not the plaything of pirates."

"OK, unless you missed the headlines, we're not just pirates, we're the Rangers!" Gia answered bad-temperedly. "If you give us those keys, we can use them to bring down The Armada. Then you won't have to hide behind your magic tricks like this."

"Or there's another solution." He answered. "If you give me those morphers, then we can take back our OWN power and use them ourselves."

"Sorry, but that's not an option." Jake stated. "We asked nicely, we need those keys. Give them to us!"

"What exactly do you think you could do to me if I don't?" The stranger asked him. They all pulled out their pistols and levelled them at the stranger.

"One last chance, give us what we asked for." Troy told him. "We don't want to have to fight you, but we will if we have to."

"You shouldn't play with guns, someone is liable to get hurt." He taunted them. As the Ranger fired on a reduced setting, hoping to incapacitate the stranger, it just tore through his cloak, which fell to the ground empty. They rushed over, picking up the cloak.

"How?" Jake asked. "How could anyone move that fast?"

"Like I said, our Ranger keys are not the playthings of pirates." The stranger replied, pulling down his cloak to reveal his face. He had dark skin, and short, dark hair. He smiled as he threw the cloak aside, revealing a leather waistcoat, trimmed in red, and leather bracers, with the same pattern "Ranger powers or not, I doubt any of you are a match for us."

"OK, this guy is seriously ticking me off now." Gia snapped. "Let's kick his butt and take the keys already!"

"You are pirates, but you are ambitious I'll give you that." Nick replied. "Let's see if you have the courage you claim to. I doubt you could even keep up without your powers. If you can catch me at the end of this path without morphing, the keys are yours."

With that, he turned and started running. The Rangers all looked among each other.

"He wants a race?" Noah asked.

"Somehow I get the feeling it's not going to be as simple as that." Emma told him. Troy just smiled.

"Well it's not like he's giving us much of a choice is it?" He replied. "Come on guys, let's go!"

With that, they all sprinted in pursuit of the Red Mystic Ranger.


	10. The Mystic Trial

The Commodore was on board his personal transport, observing through the viewing screen as the ship followed the path their surveillance had tracked the Red Galleon across. He knew he was already behind them, that they would have a significant head start, but his ship was fast enough that he was hopeful they would not be too far ahead. He had brought a squadron of ships with him, each carrying a squadron of X-bots. His foes were tricky, and he now knew they had potentially a lot more tricks up their sleeves. He was taking no chances this time.

Salamandore was by his side, while the bruisers stood ready for action. One of the X-bots turned in his seat to look at The Commodore.

"Sir, the Red Galleon is directly ahead." It informed him. He smiled as he saw the Rangers' ship in full view. It was floating above the ground, anchored in place.

"Then the Rangers will not be far." Salamandore commented. "There is nothing of note out here. They can't have gone far from the ship."

"This...this is odd." The Commodore stated.

"What's odd?" Salamandore asked him.

"I was under the impression there was a city here." The Commodore stated. "On the highway between San Angeles and Reefside...there was meant to be a city here, I'm sure of it."

"Does it look like there's a city down there?" Salamandore asked him. "It doesn't look like there's been anyone down there in years...it doesn't even look like any of our lot have been there."

"Yes...I noticed the lack of obvious destruction." The Commodore responded. "Like you said, the Rangers can't be far. Land the ship and start searching. How large can these woods be?"

Meanwhile, in the woods, the Rangers were finding out exactly that. Running after Nick, they found him moving at speeds which defied logic. Even Emma, who was well versed in traversing wooded terrain was completely stunned by the swiftness with which he moved through the terrain. Far more than simply being physically fit, and intimately familiar with the woods, he moved like the forest itself was assisting his flight.

"I thought he said no powers!" Jake complained as a low branch whipped his face. "He's clearly using magic, he's got to be!"

"I think he said only WE weren't allowed to use powers." Noah corrected him, stumbling on a root as he ran. "I guess we should have clarified the rules."

Nick leapt into the air, and disappeared, the air around him shimmering. Emma, Noah, Gia and Jake all skidded to a halt.

"Oh, come ON!" Gia complained. "How the hell are we meant to catch him if he disappears?"

Troy, breaking into a sprint, leapt into the air, and disappeared as well. The others just stared in amazement.

"Um...I guess we can follow then." Gia stated. As they too continued to run, they passed through the barrier.

Jake got a little way past the barrier before he realised something was wrong. He stopped, and looked around, realising that not only was he in a completely unfamiliar part of the wood, but now his friends, who only seconds before had been right beside him, were nowhere to be seen.

"Guys?" He asked. "Guys?"

Just then, he heard a loud crashing behind him. He turned in time to see the earth parting, forced upward from underneath, like it was being snapped in two. He was thrown off his feet by the parting earth, and landed in a heap.

"OK, I remember I used to have tricks like that." Jake stated. A tree grew up from the ground, before splitting open. A man slightly taller than Jake stepped out of the opening. He had slightly curly hair, and a long black coat, under which he had a leather waist coat trimmed in green. He was carrying an axe in his right hand.

"G'day." He greeted Jake. "The name's Xander."

"Jake." Jake replied. "I'm guessing that little stunt means we're not exactly going to talk this out."

"There was a time I'd have tried that approach." Xander said, twirling his axe in a nonchalant way. "But between the fact Plan Xander really doesn't seem to work, and the fact all of you decided to come barging into our home town demanding things that don't belong to you made us think, maybe you aren't the kind of people that can be trusted."

Jake pulled out his morpher, but as he was about to change, he looked into Xander's eyes, and for some reason, all he could think about was what Nick had said when he challenged them. They were not to use powers. It seemed that Nick and Xander didn't have the same reservations, and he was trying to think of a reason not to just morph, but something stopped him.

"I may be a pirate, but that doesn't mean I wasn't honest." Jake stated, activating a command on his morpher, bringing forth his cutlass and his pistol. "You challenged us to do this without powers, and that's what we agreed to!"

"Bold words for a pirate." Xander replied, hefting his axe up onto his shoulders and beckoning Jake forward. "Let's see what you've got."

In another part of the woods, Gia got to a clearing, before she realised she was alone.

"Emma?" She called out. "Jake?"

She felt a shift in the air, and knew that something was coming. The air felt thicker, like there had been a sudden rise in ozone.

She jumped back a couple of feet as a bolt of lightning hit the ground. She looked around.

"OK, this magic stuff is getting really old, really fast." She grumbled. "Lightning wouldn't strike open ground this close to trees."

"Well, it might under some circumstances." She heard the reply. A man with red hair, wearing a long black cloak, and carrying a sword and a shield walked into view. "Sir Charles Thorn."

"Gia." She replied. "So, now we've got the introductions out the way, I'm guessing you're not here to exchange polite conversation."

"And you were?" He asked. "I do remember you pointing a pistol at my friend Nick not too long ago."

"Fair point." Gia answered, drawing her cutlass, and her pistol. Chip smiled.

"A pirate against a knight?" He asked, drawing his shield up before him and readying his broadsword. "Let's see how that turns out."

After going through the barrier, Noah found himself standing on the banks of a river. He stopped running, realising he was on his own. He paused to consider that for a moment.

"OK, why do I get the feeling I'm not alone?" He asked. As if to answer his question, a huge wave struck the shore near him. As the water parted, he saw a woman standing before him, wearing a long cloak, and a waistcoat trimmed in blue. She looked to him judgementally.

"I'm guessing you're the Mystic Force Blue Ranger." He surmised. She just nodded.

"Maddison." She introduced herself, producing a staff. Noah sighed.

"I guess it's too much to hope we can talk about this?" He asked, preparing his sword.

"Why? Are you scared of getting your butt kicked by a girl?" Madison asked him.

"Hey, I've had my butt kicked by girls loads of times!" Noah answered. "Um...that came out wrong...come on!"

Emma made her way through the barrier, and had to skid to a halt almost instantly as she found herself at the edge of a tall cliff. She only just regained her balance as the wind picked up. She saw a woman walking towards her, carrying a staff, and wearing a long coat, and a waistcoat trimmed in pink. She had pink streaks dyed into her hair. Emma looked to her and gulped.

"Um...you're friends with that guy in the woods right?" She asked.

"I know him." Vida answered honestly. "So, are you just going to give up?"

"If you really were a Ranger, you'd know we don't really do that." Emma reminded her. "Now, where are my friends?"

"You'll be reunited with them soon enough." Vida told her as she ran at her, raising her staff.

Troy meanwhile had appeared at the top of some high cliffs, only a little way behind Nick after coming through the barrier. He followed him to the edge of a chasm between two rock faces. Nick leapt across, landing on the other side, before waving his hand. Troy stumbled as he tried to stop, only narrowly avoiding falling over the edge as the two cliff faces moved apart.

"Alright, we've done what you asked; we ran your little race!" Troy yelled at him.

"And yet, here I am, still out of reach." Nick taunted him. "The challenge was that you had to CATCH me."

"I'm sick of these tricks!" Troy snapped. "You told us to prove we deserve your Ranger keys! We've done everything you asked of us!"

"Well...not exactly." Nick told him. "You see, it's not me you have to convince. It's him."

He pointed down the chasm. Troy started to back up as a massive dragon flew up out of the abyss. It landed before him, unleashing a deafening roar.

"Aw...shit!" He exclaimed, before running and seeking cover behind a rock. Nick stood on the other side of the chasm, watching as Fireheart drew back his head, unleashing a massive jet of flame breath across the opposite cliff.

Outside the barrier, The Commodore and his forces were wandering through the woods, looking for any sign of the Rangers. Salamandore sat on a rock to take a rest after becoming frustrated with the endless search.

"Sir, there's another footprint." One of his minions stated, bringing him to a footprint in the mud. "It's the same type of boot as before."

"How far could they have gone?" Salamandore complained. "We keep finding footprints, but it seems like we're not getting any closer! How could they have come this far?"

The Commodore looked around, trying to figure out what was happening. As he did, he glanced upwards, seeing the Red Galleon over the tree tops. He squinted to see it.

"Stay here." The Commodore told them, before gesturing to one of his robotic minions. "You...go that way."

"Sir..."

"Contact us if you find anything." The Commodore told the robot. It dutifully walked off into the distance, disappearing into the tree line.

"Sir, what's going on?" Salamandore asked him.

"I'm just trying out a theory." The Commodore answered. After a short wait, the robot appeared on the other side of them, walking back into view. Salamandore just looked totally confused.

"Wait...how...?"

"We haven't moved any further from the Galleon than we were." The Commodore informed him. "We haven't been finding boot prints; we've been finding the same boot print over and over again."

"We've been walking around in circles?" Salamandore asked. "But how is that possible?"

"It isn't possible by any scientific means." The Commodore answered. "There is some form of trickery at work here."

"Then what do we do?" Salamandore asked him.

"Since going forward doesn't seem to get us anywhere, perhaps we should wait." The Commodore suggested. "Return to the ship, we know the Rangers will show up eventually. After all, they're not going anywhere without their ship."

Back on the cliff, Troy threw his back against a rock as Fireheart launched another blast at him. He gripped his sword tighter.

"What the hell? I have to fight a dragon?" He called out. Nick just continued to watch as Troy avoided Fireheart's attacks.

"You wanted the powers of the Mystic Force?" Nick asked him. "Well, here's your chance! All you have to do is convince him you're worthy!"

Troy fired his pistol as he broke cover, running for another spot. The shots seemed to have little effect on the massive dragon, if anything, all they did was anger it further.

"Easier said than done." Troy muttered. Looking at him, he had to duck as Fireheart's tail missed him by inches, sending stone flying from the impact. How could he have been expected to prepare for that? How many dragons were there? It wasn't like it was common to run across dragons.

That was when something occurred to him. He HAD faced a dragon before, or...he had at least faced its spirit. Back when he faced Vrak for control of the Wild Sword, he had communed with Graegoras, the Father of Dragons, the first of his kind. He hadn't earned the power of the Ultra Mode by force; he had earned it by convincing Graegoras of the power of his will to fight for the Earth.

Fireheart was no spirit; he was a very real, very powerful, and very dangerous dragon, the last of his kind. However, he knew from his encounter with Graegoras that dragons were tied strongly to magic, that they were the guardians of Earth long before the time of man. If Graegoras could be convinced of the worth of a human, perhaps Fireheart could too.

He stepped out of his hiding place, and drove his sword into the ground, before throwing his pistol aside.

"Fireheart, hear me!" Troy called out. Fireheart launched jets of flame from his nostrils that narrowly missed Troy, shooting either side of him. Troy stood unflinching despite the intense heat, and stared directly at him.

"I don't want to fight you. I was wrong to attack you!" Troy continued. "I was wrong to attack your friends. I was so caught up in gaining your powers...I had no right to act as I did!"

Fireheart just roared, slamming a clawed hand down on the rock either side of him. It drew closer.

"The mighty Graegoras, Father of Dragons, the first of your kind once trusted us with his power because like your friends, we want nothing more than to fight to save the Earth from those that would do it harm. I know you have no reason to trust us, there is but one thing I can offer you."

Troy knelt down before Fireheart, and bowed his head.

"Please, Fireheart, help us as your ancestor once did." He concluded. "Please, try to see in us what Graegoras once did."

Fireheart let out a low growl, before reaching up a huge, clawed hand. Troy didn't flinch as he waited for it to strike, but instead, Fireheart reached down, and picked him up, before depositing him on the other side of the chasm. Troy got to his feet, looking to Nick. The Red Mystic Force Ranger just smiled at him.

"Well, I guess this is it." He replied. "I guess you caught me."

"Something tells me that if you didn't want to be caught, I wouldn't be able to." Troy replied as he stood before Nick. Nick just chuckled.

"That took a lot of guts facing up to Fireheart like that." Nick stated. "He's mystically tied to me, but he still scares me at times."

"So you wanted to test our courage?" Troy asked him. "You wanted to see if we'd be willing to follow through and do whatever it takes to save the world from The Armada?"

"You've got it in one." Nick answered. "The fact it also gave you a little taste of humility was just a bonus. Just a thought, but next time you go to a Ranger team and ask for the only route to their powers? Waving weapons around and barking out demands...probably not the way to go about it."

"I guess I did get a little caught up in the immediacy of the search." Troy answered. "So...where are my friends?"

"My friends were keeping them company." Nick told him. He snapped his fingers, at which the other Mystic Force and Megaforce Rangers appeared on the cliff top. The Mystic Force put their weapons away.

"Wait...what happened?" Jake asked. "A second ago we were fighting..."

"Yeah, we're done with that." Xander told him. "Your friend convinced Fireheart you're on the level."

"He's a pretty good judge of character." Vida stated. "If he thinks you earned the keys, then...I guess you have."

"Alright, we got the keys!" Noah called out. "So...where are they?"

"Why do you think you had to convince Fireheart?" Nick asked in response. They all turned around to see Fireheart reaching out to them. There, in the palm of his outstretched claw were five Ranger keys. Red, Blue, Yellow, Green and Pink. Troy stepped forward, taking them.

"I thought there were more Mystic Force Rangers." Troy stated.

"There were, but we don't know where those keys are." Nick informed them. "Those were the only ones that appeared here. We really don't know what happened to the others. The Mystic Mother might know, but she's...well...she's disappeared."

"There are forces at work here that even we don't understand." Chip told them. "All we know is that for now, we're here to keep our little corner of the globe safe."

"Now, I know we all got off on the wrong foot, but would you mind doing us one small favour?" Nick asked them. "Some friends of yours showed up on the edge of the woods a while ago. Would you mind getting rid of them before you go?"

"I guess it would be a good way to try out these new powers." Emma said with a grin. Troy nodded his head in agreement.

"Alright guys, back to the ship." Troy told them. "Let's see what happens when you cross pirates with magic."


	11. The Mystic Power

The Commodore was pacing impatiently as he waited near the Galleon for the Rangers to reappear. He had already figured out that there was some kind of trickery at play, finding that no matter how far his forces searched for the Rangers they always seemed to end up coming right back, like a giant loop, and so he had resigned himself to the fact that the only way to be sure he would encounter the Rangers was to wait for them by their ship, knowing they would come back eventually.

"What is taking them so long?" Salamandore growled in frustration. "I thought you said..."

"They'll be here!" The Commodore assured him. "They're not going anywhere without their ship."

"You've got that right." Troy called out as the Rangers walked into view with him. He smiled as he saw them. "I see you have a few more friends this time."

"Not to mention some new ones." Gia commented. "What are those things?"

"They're called bruisers." He stated, patting one of the large, blues, clawed robots. "Want to guess what they do?"

"I'm guessing they make a nice supply of spare parts." Jake answered, looking to his watch. "Sorry, my watch is two minutes fast."

The Commodore gestured to his forces to attack, at which the Rangers rushed forward, attacking the robots. Noah hit one of the bruisers with a flying kick, only to bounce back with little effect.

"OK, the big guys are tough." He conceded, calling on his weapons as they continued their attack. The half dozen bruisers did make the battle tougher than the Rangers had expected. They all summoned up their weapons, using them to balance the field somewhat. Salamandore just looked to the Commodore, who nodded.

Salamandore pulled back his head, spewing forth a curtain of flame, scattering the Rangers. A few of the robots unfortunate enough to be in the path of his attacks melted under the intensity of the heat. Troy looked to his team.

"Alright guys, I think we can safely say this has escalated." Troy told them, flipping out his morpher. The five Rangers all morphed, taking down the last of the robots, leaving them facing Salamandore and The Commodore. Troy looked to The Commodore.

"Think you guys can handle the walking handbag?" He asked them.

"Leave him to us." Gia assured him as she and the others surrounded Salamandore. Troy levelled his pistol at The Commodore.

"I guess that just leaves us to play." He said as he confronted The Commodore.

"Just as you wish." The Commodore answered as he rushed at Troy, their swords clashing in the air.

Meanwhile, on a cliff face just beyond the magical barrier, the Mystic Force Rangers stood watching the battle unfold.

"The new guys are pretty good." Chip complimented them. "I have to admit, it's nice to be able to sit and watch instead of getting involved."

"Yeah, they can handle themselves." Xander agreed. Nick knelt down, keeping an eye on the action.

"Fireheart wouldn't have chosen them if he didn't think they were worthy." He said with authority. "Let's just see what they do."

Back at the battle, Salamandore was grappling with Noah and Gia, only to find himself sent backwards as Jake and Emma hit him with a barrage of pistol shots. They regrouped, facing off before him as Noah pulled out his new Ranger key.

"Right guys; let's see what these new powers can do." Noah called out. They all inserted their keys into their morphers, turning them. In a flash of light, a new team was standing before Salamandore.

"You...you got the keys?" He asked. "Where? How? There's nothing here!"

"What can I say, it's magic!" Noah called out, bringing up his Magistaff.

Up on the cliff, the Mystic Force were watching with interest. Maddison pulled back a little.

"OK, that just...looks strange." She stated. "My counterpart is a guy?"

"You're not the only one, my costume has a skirt now!" Chip pointed out as Gia blasted Salamandore with a lightning bolt from her crossbow.

"Chip's a girl." Xander sniggered as he pointed to the battle. Chip just sighed.

"That's SIR Charles Thorn." He corrected him.

Back on the battlefield, Troy gained some space from The Commodore, disarming him of his pistol. He turned the Ranger key in his morpher, transforming into the Mystic Force Red Ranger.

"Do you think this is all it takes?" The Commodore asked him. "Do you think one more costume is going to make a difference?"

"You haven't seen what this costume can do!" He roared as he rushed towards The Commodore. The alien prepared to parry, but as Troy got close, he transformed into a flaming phoenix, rushing straight through him. The Commodore fell to the ground, screaming in agony as he was burned painfully. Troy turned to where the Rangers were dealing with Salamandore, watching with satisfaction as he was hit with a massive water jet.

"Alright guys, how about we finish him off?" Troy asked them. "Let's give our new friends a show!"

They each powered up their magistaffs, casting forth their individual spells, all of them slamming into Salamandore at the same time. He screamed out in pain as he fell to the ground, sparking as he fell, and exploded. Troy rounded on The Commodore as he brushed off what was left of his coat from his charred flesh.

"Now, this looks familiar doesn't it?" Troy asked. "You're not so brave when you're on your own are you?"

Before they could power up another strike to finish The Commodore off though, a beam hit the forest floor, coming from orbit. The Rangers all ducked, presuming it to be an attack, but as it hit the place Salamandore had fallen, they saw what was left of him starting to reform and grow.

"What do you know, even the new guys grow." Gia said sarcastically as they morphed back into their own Ranger mode.

"I guess that's what we have Zords for." Noah answered with a sigh as he watched The Commodore running away.

"Alright guys, let's do it!" Troy called out. The Rangers quickly leapt back into the Galleon, forming up into the Megazord. Salamandore didn't give them time to breathe before he attacked. He rocked the Zord with heavy blows before they had a chance to prepare a guard.

"OK, he's fast, we can give him that." Jake grunted as he activated the controls, catching Salamandore in a clinch before he could do too much more damage. He was already inside their guard, so they couldn't get their swords into play. They started to hit him with knees and elbows as Salamandore clawed at them, and unleashed his flame breath.

"Damn, he's all over us!" Noah yelled. "We need some space!"

"I say we fight fire with fire." Emma suggested, producing the Mystic Force Pink Ranger Key. The Rangers watched as they started glowing.

"OK, what's up with that?" Jake asked. "They...they already gave us their powers!"

"I guess there's one way to find out." Troy stated as he flicked open his Mystic Force Key. The Rangers inserted their keys into the console and turned them.

Everyone pulled back, looking around in wonder as the air was split by a bellowing roar. Salamandore pulled away, looking around for the source of the noise, far enough that Jake could bring an elbow down across his face, sending him staggering back.

"Look up there!" Emma called out. "It's Fireheart!"

Fireheart flew into view, swooping past and lashing out at Salamandore with his claws. The giant lizard cowered before the might of the last of the dragons. Although he was powerful, he could feel when he was terribly outmatched. His flame breath was no match for Fireheart's, which hit him square in the chest, filling the air with dark smoke and the stench of burning flesh.

Troy grabbed the side of his head, closing his eyes as he heard something. It was a voice, speaking directly to his soul.

"Guys, you're not going to believe this, Fireheart wants to join us." Troy told them.

"What are you talking about? He's already done that!" Jake told him. "He's kicking Salamandore's scaly butt!"

"No, he wants to join us!" Troy told them, taking the controls. "Prepare for morphing sequence!"

The Rangers watched as Fireheart looped high overhead, before slamming into the back of the Megazord. He joined onto them, his head and neck coming through the chest. Large wings sprouted from the Megazord's shoulders, casting an awesome shadow. By the time Salamandore's vision cleared up, he could see the new Megazord standing before him.

"Mystic Spell Seal!" Troy called out. Magical energy flowed from the Megazord, surrounding Salamandore in glowing energy rings. He tried to flee, but it was already too late. With the spell in place, he could do nothing as the Rangers prepared for the final attack.

Glowing with an intense energy, the Megazord fired a huge power blast from Fireheart's mouth. Salamandore exploded on the spot, leaving nothing in his wake. The Rangers turned their attention to the flotilla of ships The Commodore had brought with him.

"Who wants to bump up our wanted rating a little?" Jake asked.

"Oh, hell yeah!" Noah answered. They unleashed a massive wave of power that wiped out most of the fleet. Only The Commodore's personal transport was left. As it started to fly away, Noah detached his jet fighter.

"Aw man, no fair!" Jake complained loudly as he left in hot pursuit. "I'm the one with the lowest reward, why does he have to destroy The Commodore's ride?"

"I guess it sucks to be you." Gia said, patting him on the shoulder as he hit his head on the controls. They watched as the transport ship was shot down and exploded on the forest floor.

On the cliff behind the barrier, Nick just smiled.

"Come on; let's prepare a proper welcome for our guests." He told his team. "They could do with a rest."

It was a couple of hours later, and the Megaforce team were enjoying the hospitality of Briarwood. It was a very accepting place, but then they didn't really expect much else. In a city where trolls, pixies, goblins and humans all lived together in peace, no one really felt that pirates were anything to worry about.

"We kind of lived off the grid for a while, even before the invasion." Nick told them as they made their way through the city. "We know that people aren't really ready for some of the things that happen here, so we just kind of kept to ourselves."

"In the last hour alone I've seen about a dozen things I didn't think existed outside of story books." Emma said with a smile. Her head snapped around as a bird streaked past her. "Was...was that a phoenix?"

"Yeah, they're kind of like pigeons here." Xander told her in a chuckle. "It takes a while getting used to."

"I can imagine." Gia replied. "It's really beautiful here. I can see why you protect it so passionately."

"Our powers aren't as strong as they were when we could morph." Nick informed them. "We hid the city, but we can't do that indefinitely."

"I don't think you have to worry about The Commodore." Noah assured him. "I got him."

"You got his ship." Nick corrected him. "He never got to his ship. I saw him running before you brought out the Zords. I did a memory charm to remove his memory of the barrier, and I sent him on a little trip."

"A trip?" Jake asked him. "Where is he?"

"Let's just say he'll be seeing a lot of penguins where he's going." Nick answered.

"I can't believe you managed to hide the whole city." Gia said, looking impressed as she snapped a few pictures of Fireheart in the city square, playing with a few children.

"It's pretty simple really." Xander told her, putting his arm around her, a smile crossing his face. "The Mystic Realm's border was just at the woods on the edge of the city. We just moved the border a couple of miles. I could tell you all about it over dinner."

"That's a nice offer and all, but I'm not into guys." She answered as she took his arm and removed it from her shoulder. Xander just looked to Nick, who was trying hard not to laugh.

"Oh come on, even after all these years it's still funny watching you strike out." Chip teased him.

"Nick, there are a lot of people getting hurt out there." Troy told him. "We could use all the help..."

"Sorry, it's like I said, our magic isn't as strong as it once was." Nick interrupted him.

"Briarwood was built right on the Magical Realm, our power is strongest here. It gets weaker the further we get from it." Maddison said regretfully. "It takes all our effort to keep the protection up around the city."

"Fireheart's pledged his allegiance to you. He'll come whenever you call him now." Nick told them.

"Besides, we know we can help out in other ways." Vida added. "We know that The Armada will go after anyone that tries to help you. A lot of people will need somewhere safe to go. If you can get them here, we can take care of them."

"And hey, we know better than anyone a Ranger team can use a break every once in a while." Chip stated. "If you need a breather, or somewhere to re-stock, feel free to drop by."

"But in future, we'd prefer it if you didn't park a giant red galleon right outside our border." Nick told them, gesturing to the Galleon floating on a nearby river, having been brought inside the barrier out of sight. "It does kind of stick out, and we would like this secret to stay that way for a while yet."

"We'll bear that in mind." Emma assured them. "We really appreciate knowing there's somewhere we can go."

"Anyway, you guys don't have to rush off do you?" Madison asked them. "You have to at least be hungry."

This was all the team needed to hear.

"I guess Tensou would appreciate it if we gave him a break before Jake gives him another migraine." Gia told them. "So where are we eating?"

Meanwhile, on the South Pole, The Commodore stood alone on a glacier as a transport ship came for him. He had been waiting some time, and was not in the least bit happy about the fact. He didn't know what had happened, or how he had ended up here, but he knew two things. Before his memory blanked out, he remembered the Rangers had accessed a new set of Ranger keys, and he remembered that once again they had defeated him and humiliated him.

As the ship landed, and the entrance opened, The Commodore was greeted by a robotic attendant.

"Sir, you have a communication waiting for you." It informed him.

"Just...get me out of here." He snapped in response. "And get me a new coat!"

"Right away sir." The robot replied, gesturing him inside. The Commodore went to a side room, and activated the communications link.

"I sent you reinforcements." The voice on the other end stated. "I sent you not only half a dozen of my bruisers, but I sent you one of my agents..."

"Sir, I can only apologise." He stated as he bowed his head in shame. "The Rangers caught us by surprise, they had..."

"We saw the battle; we know they had new powers!" Another voice stated. "Though I distinctly remember you promising that would not matter. I remember you telling us how you would bring us the Rangers..."

"I am sorry." The Commodore told them. "If I had more resources..."

"You will have more resources. It has become clear you are no longer fit to take on this task yourself." The first voice told him. The Commodore was presented with a great coat, which he allowed the robot to place on him. Looking down as it fastened the coat, he furrowed his brows.

"Is something wrong?" The voice asked him.

"There must be something wrong with my attendant." The Commodore told them. "It gave me the wrong replacement coat..."

"No, it gave you the right coat." The Voice stated.

"But...but the livery is that of a Captain." The Commodore stated.

"That is correct." The voice told him. "You cannot expect failure to be rewarded."

"YOU DEMOTED ME?" The Commodore screamed in anger. "I have taken over hundreds of worlds for you! I have laid waste to entire civilisations! I've single-handedly defeated armies! I have served you faithfully for years...!"

"I can't help feeling like perhaps that is part of the problem." The voice responded. "You are regularly being bested by five teenagers. I can't help wondering if perhaps you are getting a little too...long in the tooth for all this. Perhaps it is time we gave your position to someone a little...fresher."

As the link was cut off, the former Commodore, now Captain, turned on his attendant with fury in his eyes, his hand straying to the hilt of his sword.


	12. Planet's Most Wanted

The Megaforce Rangers opted to accept Briarwood's hospitality, at least for a couple of days, before heading off on their quest again. While they knew they needed to make sure they gathered the Ranger Keys before The Armada, the fact was that they were already a few steps ahead of them. They were sure that by now The Armada was aware of the Ranger keys, having even heard The Commodore mention them in their last battle, they were certain that like themselves they probably only had vague ideas where they might start looking for the keys.

So far, the Rangers had found two sets of keys, the Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger Keys, and the Mystic Force Keys. That they found them in Angel Grove and Briarwood respectively was likely only a coincidence. They had figured out that both sets of keys had turned up in locations important to the teams that wielded those powers. The Mighty Morphin' Keys had appeared in the cockpit of the long-dormant Dragonzord, while the Mystic Force Keys had gone to the possession of the Mystic Dragon Fireheart. So far they had no reason to believe that the keys would appear in the possession of the team members that had wielded them, which was something of a blessing in disguise. It complicated finding the keys for the Rangers, but also for The Armada.

There was no telling where the other keys had gone. Although all the Ranger teams tended to centre on particular cities, there were literally hundreds of locations that could be considered "important" in Ranger terms to each team, some of them not even on the planet! The fact was that when it came to the search, Tensou was the best hope they had for finding the keys, meaning they were ahead by a few steps. The Armada, on the other hand, were more or less searching blind. It gave them time for a little breather, something they were more than a little thankful for.

Briarwood itself had changed in recent times. Although the town was an accepting place, and the residents of the Magical Realm regularly came into town, for the most part they stuck to their own realm. The best way for them to remain safe had always been for them to remain hidden from the rest of the world, who weren't really ready to accept that things like dragons and vampires and goblins actually existed. Since the invasion though, when the Mystic Rangers had shifted the border to the Mystic Realm to encompass Briarwood, many of the magical creatures had opted to move into the city.

Troy smiled as he watched the streets, noting that despite how different things were, a lot of things were still the same. It was only unusual to see Phineas, one of the Briarwood team's friends who he now knew to be something called a "Troblin" wandering the streets with his wife and their kids for a short time. Once she got past the leathery skin, wild hair and rows and rows of teeth, they looked just like any other family. He didn't even notice as Emma arrived behind him.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked him. He didn't answer, just watching as Leelee pushed one of the kids on the swing set. She just smiled realising what he was looking at.

"I never knew you thought about stuff like that." She said as she rested on the bench next to him, nudging him gently. He just continued to watch them.

"I did." He replied as he crossed his arms. "I guess I once thought about stuff like that. You know, what we would do once the whole Ranger thing was over."

Emma didn't say anything as he took a breath. Although she loved him dearly, one of the things she had accepted about Troy was that he wasn't often the most talkative about what was troubling him. He had a severe hero complex, which meant he was always so focused on making sure everyone else was alright that he generally didn't like to burden anyone else with his issued.

"I was never exactly a big dreamer." He told her. "I figured I'd do health and fitness at college, maybe with a minor in business. Maybe open a dojo or give lessons at a gym somewhere."

"And the longing looks at the kids?" She pressed on. He just sighed.

"I guess I thought it would happen one day." He admitted. "I guess I thought I'd like to have kids one day...I just..."

"I know, it's kind of hard to see much of a future right now." Emma admitted. "I guess before, we still had our old lives. We still lived at home, we still went to school...I guess back then, even when we were fighting it always felt like we knew a day would come that the fighting would all be over."

"I can't see how we're ever going to get back to anything like a normal life." He admitted. "So what if we do win? What happens if The Commodore, and all his superiors and flunkies pack up and go home?"

"Troy..."

"The Earth is resilient, and so are its people." Troy told her. "I honestly meant what I said that first day of school. They'll bounce back. They've done it before and they'll do it again."

"They?" Emma asked, noting the tone in his voice.

"No matter what happens, no matter what natural disaster befalls humanity, they bury their dead, they rebuild, and then they get right back on with their lives." He continued. "But given what happened to the Space Rangers..."

"You don't think we'll have a place left in the world." Emma asked him. He just nodded.

"Unless we want to be a tourist attraction, like animals in a zoo." Troy grumbled. "We've already dominated the newspapers for the past three months. Even if we do win, everyone will want a piece of us. What kind of future is that?"

"Troy, I can't pretend to know the answers to that." She admitted. "Leaving home, leaving dad was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. As much as I love him, as hopeful as I am, I know that there's a chance...there's a chance I'll never see him again."

"So what are we meant to do?" Troy asked her. "How are we meant to have any kind of life?"

"Well, you said it yourself. Humans are a resilient species." Emma continued. "I guess we'll just have to move on too." She answered. "From what I understand, the Space Rangers went off the grid after their tenure. If the last couple of treasure hunts is anything to go by, we'll probably run across at least one of them on our journey to get their keys. No one's seen them in years right?"

"So?" Troy asked her.

"Maybe they found some way to have a life after all of this." She suggested. "Maybe we can ask them about it."

She put an arm around him, pulling him in closer.

"I really hate this." Troy admitted. "I know I've been acting like all this pirate stuff is some huge adventure, and that I'm loving this, but..."

"Hey, who do you think you're talking to?" Emma asked him with a smile. "You might have the others fooled, but you can't hide anything from me. I know you were just putting on a show for us. For what it's worth, it was a pretty good show. If I didn't know you so well, I'd have been convinced."

"I should have known I couldn't fool you." Troy replied. "I guess I kind of lost my way a little."

"We all have, but I guess we just...need to find another." Emma told him. "We're all kind of making this up as we go along."

"Thank you." He stated, kissing her softly. "I don't know if I could do this without you."

In another part of the city, Gia was busy taking pictures of some of the magical creatures she could find. Fireheart had been kind enough to allow her to take some pictures with her morpher, while the unicorn Brightstar was actually posing, thoroughly lapping up the attention. She didn't notice as Madison arrived behind her.

"Brightstar's always been a bit of a camera darling." She chuckled. "Your friend Jake said you might be out here."

"I figured I'd take some pictures while I had the chance. It's not every day you meet an actual unicorn." Gia told her. "I just wish Cat was here."

"Cat, she's your girlfriend right?" Madison asked her. Gia just looked to her and shrugged.

"I'm not really sure I can all her that anymore." Gia answered honestly. "Last time I saw her, it all seemed really final. She heard all the rumours about Briarwood. She's got a real thing about dragons. We were meant to take a road trip out here after graduation."

"So you have to postpone the road trip for a while." Maddie said comfortingly. "Briarwood will still be here."

"I know, I just wonder if Cat will." Gia answered. "I know she'd love to see this place, but I know I can't expect her to wait around forever."

"I'd love to be able to say something reassuring, to be able to promise you that one day all of this would work out, and Cat would be waiting for you when you got home." Maddie answered sadly. "Unfortunately, some magic is beyond our understanding. Even the Mystic Mother admitted that she made some questionable choices in the romance department over the years."

"Mystic Mother?" Gia asked her. Maddie just nodded.

"She presides over all good magic." Maddie informed her. "She's been in her own realm for some time. She's kind of disappeared. None of us know what's up with that."

"It's probably got something to do with Gosei." Gia told her. "None of us have seen him in a while either. He's kind of disappeared off the grid. He said something about a grand plan he had, but other than that...he's disappeared."

"I guess we'll all find out in time." Madison said reassuringly. "We can only hope whatever he has planned works."

"And hope that in the meantime we can find all the remaining keys." Gia said with a glance to her most recently acquired Ranger key, the Yellow Mystic Force Key.

"I have to admit, I wasn't sure about a guy in my suit, but Chip's costume looked kind of good on a girl." Madison told her. "I know you guys will make good use of our keys."

"We'll definitely do our best." Gia answered. "Now that the bad guys know what we're up to, I'm sure things will only get tougher. We're ahead at the moment because of Tensou's tracking system, but..."

"But you've been at this too long to think the bad guys won't figure out a way to track down keys themselves." Madison interrupted her. Gia just nodded.

"I know I should probably be thinking positively..."

"Every team needs a realist." Madison interrupted her. "It keeps things grounded. Makes sure no one gets too wrapped up in all the cool powers and starts being careless."

"It sounds like you're talking from experience." Gia answered. Madison just put an arm around her.

"Let's just say, it wouldn't be the first time I found my friends getting themselves into some pretty interesting situations." Madison told her. "Let me tell you about the time Xander ended up turning himself into a tree."

Meanwhile, back at the White House, The Commodore made his way into the Oval Office, where Zack was waiting for him. The former Black Ranger just smiled as he saw him.

"Glad to see you back." Zack greeted him. "Nice coat. Um...wasn't it fancier before?"

"Get out!" The Commodore snapped at him.

"This is my office..."

"I said GET OUT!" The Commodore roared, grabbing Zack and roughly bundling him out the door, before slamming the door. Jason was waiting outside.

"It looks like he's happy." Jason said sarcastically. Zack smiled in response.

"Yeah, he's losing it alright." He answered. "Any word from the others?"

"They know what they're looking for now, so at least they know that much." Jason told him. "Still no word from the Space Rangers, Andros doesn't exactly pick up the phone these days, and you know we can't risk tapping the Overdrive or Lightspeed teams."

"Keep me posted." Zack told him. "In the meantime, I guess we need to play along with Mr Temper Tantrum."

In his office though, The Commodore summoned one of his attendants.

"I need you to get out a message." The Commodore told him. "Firstly...inform the others that my designation has changed. From now on, I am to be referred to as..."

He looked like he was going to be ill, like eve having the words in his mouth was about to make him sick to his stomach.

"The Captain." He stated.

"I will relay the message." The attendant informed him.

"Also, I need you to update the status on those damned pirates." He continued, calling up their records. He started entering in details of their latest 'crimes' against The Armada. He pressed the button to transfer his updates across the network. "I want these new messages on every form of media."

"Sir, are you sure?" The attendant asked. The Captain just glared at him.

"They have humiliated me for the LAST TIME!" He screamed at his underling. "I want the reward on them so high their own parents would turn them in! I don't want them to be able to so much as show their faces in a populated area without me knowing about it! I want them before me to that I can be the one to finish them, do you understand me?"

"But sir..."

"Do I need to get another new attendant?" He snarled. "Do you want to end up like your predecessor?"

"It will be done sir." The robot replied as he took the data and left. The Captain got up, and started to pace the office. The Rangers had caused him a humiliation that would not stand. He would show his employers that they were wrong to doubt him. He would not rest knowing that the Rangers had caused him to lose prestige among his followers. He picked up his sabre and pressed a button on his intercom.

"Send a squadron to the back yard for training." He stated. "Hold my calls for the rest of the day."

Back in Briarwood, the Rangers were sitting in a restaurant, a curry shop that Nick had recommended. He had also assured them that he knew the owner, and that he would be more than willing to hook them up with a free meal.

"Here it is, and trust me, the food is great!" Xander told them. "Just...don't ask for beef. It's the only meat they don't do here."

"The chef's Indian?" Emma asked, knowing that part of the religion in the country considered cows to be sacred. Chip just chuckled.

"No, but the chef is a Minotaur." He informed them. "He pretty much considers it cannibalism. Xander ended up being thrown out the first time he ordered here."

"The Rogan Josh is to die for." Vida continued. "But I'd probably advise against the Vindaloo."

"Four pitchers of beer!" Nick called out.

"Um...we're all underage." Gia reminded him. Nick just smiled.

"Yeah...not here. There isn't exactly a sheriff's department here since the town disappeared." He assured them. As they sat down, Noah saw something on the television, realising it was a news report on them.

"Hey, can you turn that up?" Noah called over to the barman. He turned up the volume on the television.

"And the main news again, the Pirate Rangers have once again caused massive destruction in their misguided war against The Armada's peaceful occupation." The announcer stated. "As such, their list of crimes has grown once again, and we are urging all responsible citizens to aid our efforts to apprehend these irresponsible and dangerous fugitives. To that end, The Captain has raised the reward for their capture or information leading to their capture."

"It's time for that game again." Noah said with a smile.

"Troy Burrows, guilty of attempted murder on The Captain is now worth a reward of four million dollars!"

Troy just picked up a poppadum, crunching it casually as the others congratulated him.

"Noah Carver, who among other things is guilty of the wilful destruction of The Captain's personal transport is now worth three point five million dollars."

Noah let out a whoop of delight, punching the air as the others applauded.

"I KNEW that would piss him off!" He said gleefully.

"Emma Goodall and Gia Moran have both been upgraded to a reward of two point seven five million dollars." The announcer continued. "While Jake Holling, the Green Ranger is worth a total of two million."

"OH COME ON!" Jake roared as he heard this announcement, a chorus of laughter coming from his friends. "How am I worth so much less than everyone else?"

"Maybe you just aren't that good a pirate." Noah suggested.

"Just because you blew up his ship." Jake grumbled. "It's not my fault my zord is a damned racing car. I would have done that if I'd had a suitable zord."

"Hey, it's not that bad, we're both behind him now too." Gia reminded Jake.

"Yeah, but you're only three quarters of a million behind him." Jake complained, pouting as he crossed his arms defiantly. "I'm double that!"

"Oh, just order yourself a curry and stop pouting." Emma teased him. "We're all wanted pirates here."

"Yeah, we're all impressed." Chip assured them. "We were never worth a combined total of fifteen million."

"Come on, let's order dinner." Vida said with a smile. "How often do we get to eat with the planet's most wanted?"


	13. The Other Keys

The Mystic Force team were a little subdued as the Megaforce team started to get ready to leave. Although they had enjoyed having them, and the Megaforce team had enjoyed getting to meet the team that now controlled their powers, and the Megaforce team enjoyed their hospitality, it was inevitable that they had to get back on their quest before The Armada had too much time to regroup, and worse, perhaps even figure out for themselves a way to track down the Ranger keys.

As they assembled by the bay, the Mystic Force had one more gift for them. Troy looked more than a little curious as he watched a crowd turn up with crates for them.

"What's all this?" Jake asked.

"We figured that you could do with a little while without having to worry about groceries, so we decided to fill up your galley." Vida informed them. "We figured you might get things done a little more quickly if you don't have to worry about grocery shopping for a while."

"Also, as flashy as those new outfits are, they do kind of stand out." Madison pointed out; gesturing to the pirate outfits the team were wearing. "I'm sure you like them and all, but we provided you with some street clothing, something that won't draw quite so much attention."

"We'll take everything you're willing to give us." Troy announced. "I'm not too proud to admit this, but with pretty much the whole world against us, we are kind of a charity case."

With a wave of her wand, Madison caused the pile of crates to disappear from view. She put it away and smiled.

"I put it all away for you." She informed them. "It'll just save you a little time."

"Well, thanks for everything." Troy stated, looking to Nick. "Including that little kick in the butt I needed. I guess I let this all get to me."

"Don't worry about it." Nick answered, shaking his hand. "Trust me, it's not like I didn't need brought into line once or twice in my time."

"Tell me about it." Xander snorted. "He was a total douche when we first met him. I seriously considered punching him dozens of times."

"But he got his act together." Madison conceded. "It took a while, and we did have to convince him more than once, but...he got there."

"Alright, alright, that's enough." Nick said with a smile as the others laughed, looking to the team. "Not everyone's as lucky as us, just remember. If anyone needs a safe haven, tell them to head along the highway. We'll be able to tell if they're someone that should be allowed in."

"Well, I guess this is it then." Troy stated, holding up the Red Mystic Force Key. "We'll bring these back some day, I promise."

"And we promise to take good care of Fireheart when we call him." Gia assured them. "We really should be going."

After boarding the ship and taking off, the Rangers were once again back on their quest for the missing keys. Gia was sitting on a couch, going through pictures on her Morpher of all the mystical creatures she had seen. Emma joined her, putting her arm around her.

"Alright guys, we're all rested and fully supplied, who says we find ourselves another set of keys?" Troy asked them.

"I'm up for it." Gia told him.

"Me too." Emma assured him.

"OK, so where to?" Jake asked them. They all just looked to him and smiled.

"Well, you DID figure out how to get Tensou's tracking software up and running." Noah reminded him. Jake immediately held up his hands.

"Oh, no, forget it." He protested.

"You're NOT hitting me on the head again!" Tensou screeched out as he started flying around.

"Dude, you DID see what he did to me last time right?" Jake asked them. "No way am I hitting him again!"

"Come on Jake, you did figure it out." Gia chuckled, giving him an off-hand look.

"Well...Troy has the biggest reward!" Jake protested, pointing at Troy. "Why can't he do it?"

"I'm the captain!" Troy replied with a smile.

"Well...why can't one of the others do it?" He asked.

"I think I know a fair way to decide who has to do it." Noah said with a smirk. "Since Jake brought up the rewards, how about we use those to determine who owes the team?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea!" Emma answered, smirking with a slightly evil look in her eyes. "Whoever has the lowest reward has to do it."

"All in favour?" Gia asked. She, Noah, Emma and Troy all put up their hands. Jake looked around the room and just threw up his hands.

"Man, you guys suck!" He moaned as he looked around for something to hit Tensou with, realising that there was no way he was getting out of this. Tensou just glared at him. "OK Tensou, I don't want to do this..."

"No!" Tensou screeched, flapping away from him.

"Tensou, you don't even have pain receptors." Jake reminded him. "It's not going to hurt..."

"That last time you hit me left a dent!" Tensou told him. "Do you know how hard it is to panel beat your own head back into shape?"

"Tensou..."

"NO!" The little bronze owl protested, flying away just as Jake took a swing.

"Tensou, I promise not to hit you hard!" Jake continued, chasing him.

"NO!" Tensou screeched again as he flew up, trying to get out of Jake's reach. He accidentally slammed against the ceiling, before falling to the table. Jake smiled.

"That works too." He stated. "You all saw that right? I never touched him, you can all vouch for it, I never hit him this time!"

"I've got the recorder." Noah stated, turning on the device, before picking up Tensou and setting him upright on the table. "Tensou, speak to us."

"The next keys reside in the city of the first month's river,  
beneath the shadow of the great forgiver,  
Find the youngest, who was left below,  
Assist his cause if you wish to know."

"OK, got it." Noah stated, turning off the recorder as he looked to Tensou. "Tensou, are you alright?"

"I didn't touch you this time." Jake rushed out, pointing to the others. "All of them saw it, you flew into the roof, I didn't lay a hand on you, right guys?"

"As much as we'd love to see you attack Jake again, he is telling the truth this time." Gia conceded. Emma nodded to confirm this version of events.

"I'll be fine." Tensou grumbled. "So, did you get the latest poem?"

"We did." Troy announced. "Now we just need to figure out what it means."

In the White House, The Captain was waiting for the latest reinforcements to arrive from his superiors. He was thankful that his attendants and guards were all robots. He was humiliated enough by his failure to bring in the Rangers without having his underlings laughing at him. He could imagine some of the others talking about him behind his back, laughing and poking fun at the fact that he had fallen so far from grace.

He was interrupted as Zack knocked on the door and entered his office. He rounded the door.

"A ship arrived in the yard...I presume it's for you." He stated. The Captain got up from his desk, making his way over.

"Remain in the office." He instructed Zack. "We have important business to discuss."

As he got out to the yard, he found a transport ship, surrounded by brutes. A new creature was standing by the ship, waiting for him.

The creature was predominantly black and red, most of his body checked, much like a harlequin, with sharp, angular shoulder pads, and a diamond shaped head. He was casually playing with a deck of cards as he leant against the side of the ship waiting for The Captain. He didn't bother to get up from the side of the ship.

"You know, you are meant to show respect to a superior officer." He said in a bad-tempered way. The creature didn't seem to bother moving though. He finally stopped flicking cards from one hand to the other and stood up.

"When one shows up, why don't you tell me?" He asked. "All I see is an officer that needs a replacement ship because his got blown up by a teenager."

"I would have had it repaired, but we never found the wreckage." The Captain stated firmly. "Now, what is your name?"

"They call me Hustler." He informed The Captain. "I was sent here to assist you."

"Exactly, you are here to ASSIST me." The Captain snapped. "I am still in charge here, so you might want to remember that."

"Whatever." Hustler answered, gesturing to the ship. "So, the boss said you need more firepower? Well, I brought along a destroyer to replace your old transport. You know...since you kind of got it blown out of the sky. Maybe the Rangers will be more hesitant to blow up a ship with a nuclear arsenal."

"Perhaps." The Captain answered, somewhat less than amused by the lack of respect he was being shown by The Hustler. "In the meantime, I have matters to attend to. Stand ready to move at my command."

"Oh yes, I'll do that." He said sarcastically as he took a seat on a chair, starting to deal out some cards. "In the meantime, can you send me some of the humans to play with? The x-bots are always willing to play, but they aren't much of a challenge."

"I'll have some of the Secret Service operatives brought to you." The Captain replied, turning and making his way inside. He was still seething about The Hustler's lack of respect, but more than that, he knew by the way he was talking that he had designs on replacing him. He was determined to ensure that did not happen. His demotion was a bitter enough pill to swallow without losing his command to this interloper. He knew there was only one way to stop that happening. Next time he came across the Rangers, he had to get rid of them, one way or another. He needed to be the one to secure the Earth. Next time, there would be no retreat. The Rangers had to fall by his hand.

Meanwhile, back on the Red Galleon, Gia was standing on the bow of the ship, looking outward as they set a course for the next destination. She didn't really notice as Jake came up onto the deck. He smiled seeing her, and headed over, tapping her on the shoulder.

Gia turned with a start, seeing Jake standing behind her. She just forced a smile as she saw him.

"Getting some fresh air?" He asked her. Gia just nodded. Troy and Emma had disappeared to plot their course and do some research, while Gia, Jake and Noah had all opted to train in the time they had before they reached their destination. After a while though, while Noah and Jake were training, she had slipped away to be alone with her thoughts.

"So, a third set of keys are waiting for us." He reminded her. "Three sets of powers out of fifteen, that's a pretty good start."

"We probably shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves." Gia sighed. "There is a long way to go, and I can't help getting the feeling that the first two were flukes."

"Wow, you're a regular ray of sunshine aren't you?" He asked her. Gia just shrugged her shoulders. "I thought by now you'd know, all we can do is think positively. Things have looked hopeless before, but at times like that, all we can do is keep going and just believe that one day things will be better."

"I know, it's just...at times it feels really hard to do that." Gia admitted. "Just one year ago, everything was so different. I was looking forward to the end of the year. My parents were still together, I was on a 4.0 grade point average, everyone still thought I was miss perfect, and as far as anyone knew the biggest worry I had was whether I wanted to choose a scholarship from the Ivy League, or go abroad to Oxford or Cambridge."

"A year's certainly brought a lot of changes." Jake agreed. "If you'd told me last year I would be standing in this stylin' green great coat on a big flying pirate ship looking for treasure, I'd have wanted to know what you were smoking."

"I wasn't really talking about that." Gia told him. It was February 2013 the team had been called by Gosei and given their powers. Their war against the various forces that threatened the Earth had dominated their lives for just short of a whole year.

"I know, I'm sorry." Jake said quietly. "I guess at times I don't know when to lay off the jokes. I know exactly what you mean. A year ago, everything was different. I remember when the extent of my worries were getting a soccer scholarship and plucking up the courage to ask you out."

Gia couldn't help smiling hearing him say that.

"You definitely did try hard to get my attention." She recalled with a small chuckle.

"You noticed?" He asked her. She just gave him a withering look.

"Jake, you did everything short of writing 'Gia, will you go out with me?' on a mallet and smashing me in the face with it." She answered dryly. "I have to admit, the attention was kind of flattering. If I'd been straight, you might just have won me over in the end."

"In some ways I think things worked out for the best." Jake stated. "I mean, I was disappointed when I figured out that nothing was going to happen between us, but what I learned was that who I thought you were is nowhere near as cool as who you actually are."

Gia leaned on the rail, looking out over the edge again.

"It's her birthday you know." Gia told him. He just nodded, realising what she meant.

"It's hard not to think about the people we left behind." Jake agreed.

"I know there's school and everything, but I'd have tried my best to make it over to LA." Gia told him. "I can't help thinking about her, wondering what she's doing, hoping she's trying to have a good time."

She looked to Jake, and took a deep breath.

"I know it's a lot to ask, I know I can't expect her to wait around forever." She told him. "Do you ever worry...?"

"It's something I try not to think about too much, but...I know that there's a chance by the time we're done, I won't have the same place in Allison's life."

He put his arm around her, holding her as he looked out.

"I guess the only thing I can think is...life changes. All we can do is hope that most of those changes are for the better. A year ago, I was lusting after the hottest girl in school." He reminded her. "Now, I have one of the best friends anyone could ever hope for. I have a friend who always had my back as one half of the Land Brothers, and who was never afraid to kick my ass when I needed it."

"And you did need it kind of a lot." Gia chuckled.

"So, speaking of which, how about a three way dance?" Jake asked her. "Noah really wants to try out all the practice he's been putting in with his sword lately."

"That's another change I guess." Gia laughed. "Could you believe a year ago he'd be spending every spare minute he has learning to sword fight?"

"About as much as I'd have believed I would have ended up student body president." He answered as they both headed inside to find Noah.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, someone was keeping track of the Rangers' movements. He smiled as he saw that they were making good time.

"It's almost time." He stated. "You have kept The Commodore at bay until now, and you have some impressive tricks, but as you will soon see..."

He looked to his hand, inspecting the objects within. They were five Ranger keys, the Green Mighty Morphin' Ranger key, the White Dino Thunder Ranger key, the Quantum Ranger key, the Gold Zeo Ranger key, and the Mercury Ranger key.

"...I have some tricks of my own."

**A/N:** Sorry for the slight hiatus, a number of things required my attention urgently. As a result, this chapter is slightly late, but hopefully that's not going to affect the timing too much.

Now, for a slight challenge for the readers if you're all up for it. This time around, I have not had anyone mention the answers to the poem. So, if you manage to correctly identify the city (hint, it's NOT one of the usual Ranger cities, so...slight cheat) and who they're going to try and find, I will give a shout-out to anyone that gets it right in the next chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!


	14. Welcome to Rio

**A/N: **As promised, here's a shout-out to the readers who figured out the poem, well done to Grass King, Earthbird and Miss DJ Classy B who all correctly figured out that the Rangers are heading to Rio de Janeiro to meet Justin.

For those of you that are curious...

"The next keys reside in the city of the first month's river,  
beneath the shadow of the great forgiver,"

Rio de Janeiro translated literally from Portuguese is "January River", so the "first month's river". Also, "beneath the shadow of the great forgiver", Rio's most famous landmark is the statue of Christ the Redeemer.

"Find the youngest, who was left below,  
Assist his cause if you wish to know."

Probably the easiest part, at 12-13 (he was 12 when his tenure started) Justin Steward was the youngest HUMAN ranger (just before anyone points out Mack was 2!) and he was "Left Below" at his own request when the Space Rangers left Earth. So...well done to both of you, and hope everyone enjoys the story.

The Rangers assembled on the bow of the ship as they neared their destination. The huge, unmistakable form of Christ the Redeemer was visible miles from the city of Rio de Janeiro. Jake smiled as he saw it.

"Rio baby!" He exclaimed happily. "I can't believe I finally get to come here. I begged my parents for years to take a vacation down here, but they never left the States!"

"Kevin told us it was beautiful." Emma recalled, remembering he told them about the honeymoon he and Mia had there. Rio was the home city of the 2016 Olympics, and before starting his family, Kevin did have intentions of training to compete in the games. He had opted to retire to concentrate on his new family, but he spoke very fondly of his time in Rio.

"I can't believe the first time I get to come here; I won't be able to enjoy it." Jake responded dejectedly. "Some of the best soccer in the world, and I have work to do."

"Maybe we can come back here another time." Noah suggested. "In the meantime, we need to find this guy and get those keys."

"Well, we know he's somewhere in Rio." Gia stated. "Great, that just narrows it down to an area of 17,500 square miles in a city with a population around 6.5 million."

"The poem said we'd find him in the shadow of the statue." Jake reminded them. Gia just looked at him sceptically.

"The statue's over a hundred feet tall, and sitting on top of a huge mountain. Its shadow is pretty big." She answered.

"Not to mention the sun moves." Emma chimed in. "If you factor in where the shadow will fall over the city right throughout the day, that's still a pretty big area."

"Also, the poem just said the city was in the shadow of the statue." Noah added. "It might not literally mean we'll find this guy in the shadow."

"Well, that's us back to square one then." Jake muttered.

"We're not going to find him up here." Troy announced. "Let's find somewhere to dock the ship, then hit the streets. I have a feeling if the guy we're looking for has the keys, then he'll know we're looking for him. With any luck, he'll find us."

"Rio didn't have a Ranger team." Noah reminded them. "We might not receive the same welcome we did in Angel Grove or Briarwood."

"Madison gave us street clothes." Jake reminded them. "If we wear something less conspicuous..."

"Good thinking." Troy agreed. "Go and get changed, I'll find somewhere to hide the ship."

Back in the White House, The Captain was going over reports coming in from his outposts all across the world when his intercom burst into life.

"Sir, we have reports coming in of a sighting of the Red Galleon." One of his attendants informed him. "It's been spotted over Rio de Janeiro."

"The last reports said they were seen heading south." The Captain recalled.

"There's more sir." The attendant continued. "Our source reported...it was descending. It looks like they're landing."

"Get The Hustler." He instructed him. "Have a battalion prepared and ready to leave in five minutes. The Rangers will not survive this time. This time, no one is coming home until their heads are mounted on my wall!"

Meanwhile, in Rio, the Rangers had changed into civilian disguises, and slipped into the city, trying as much as possible to blend in with the crowd.

It seemed like Rio had actually escaped the worst of the destruction from the alien invasion. There were a few damaged buildings here and there, but for the most part, the city seemed like it had gotten back to normal. People just made their way through the streets, going about their business. Jake recoiled when he saw some robots making their way past them, but stayed his hand on his morpher when he realised that they were carrying tools, not weapons. He watched them make their way to a building site, and start to work.

"That...that's going to take some getting used to." Jake commented.

"They're repairing the damage they did in the invasion." Gia snorted. "They're going around telling everyone that'll listen we're the bad guys for fighting them, while they're trying to curry favour by repairing the damage they did in the first place."

"At least they're cleaning up after themselves I suppose." Noah remarked. "So, where do we start looking?"

"There's a stadium about..."

"We're not here to watch soccer Jake." Emma grumbled. "We're here to..."

"Soccer, did I hear you say Soccer?" Someone asked. They looked around as they saw a Caucasian man, around their height, and a little older than them coming out of the shadows. He had short, dark, spiky hair, and was wearing a black leather jacket and blue jeans. He smiled. "You're American too?"

"Yeah, we just got here." Troy told him. "If you'll excuse us, we have a lot to..."

"I think I know exactly what you're here for Troy." The stranger answered. The Rangers all rounded on him. "The disguises are a nice touch, but I'm observant enough to recognise the World's Most Wanted."

"You know who we are, so you have us at a disadvantage." Gia told him. "Who are you?"

"I'm a friend." He said with a smile.

"We're looking for..."

"I think I know what you're looking for." The Stranger told them, gesturing for them to follow him. "Come with me."

"Where are you taking us?" Troy asked him. He just looked to them.

"Trust me, in this neighbourhood, people are usually unobservant, but that doesn't mean someone else won't recognise you." He told them. "People around here know better than to pay too much attention to what other people are doing, but the reward on your heads is pretty tempting. A lot of people who live here would see that as a way out."

The Rangers considered what he was saying. Rio, like a lot of cities, had a large divide between the richest and poorest areas. Right now, they were in one of the neighbourhoods at the lower end of the economic scale, the section that wouldn't appear in any tourist guide. Fifteen million dollars was a lot of money to anyone, but in this neighbourhood, it was likely a dream ticket to a life most wouldn't dare even dream of.

"Maybe we should get off the street before anyone else recognises us and gets ideas." Jake suggested. "Even my reward looks like it'd be mighty tempting around here."

"What do you say Troy?" Emma asked him. Troy thought about it for a moment. They still didn't really know who this guy was, but talking about Ranger business in the middle of the street didn't seem like a wise move. They needed to get somewhere quiet so they could discuss matters without worrying about anyone overhearing and turning them into The Armada and claim the reward. It occurred to him of course that he might not be able to trust the stranger, but then...it wasn't like he and his friends were helpless. Even if he was planning something, it would be a mistake to take on a fully powered up Ranger team.

As they proceeded to leave, following the stranger, they didn't see someone else arriving in the street. He pulled his truck to a stop and applied the parking break.

"Shit." He grumbled under his breath, before pulling out a cell phone.

On the destroyer, The Captain was watching his crew piloting the ship as The Hustler sat on a chair with his feet crossed on a control console, casually playing with his deck of cards. He looked to the monster and snorted in disgust.

"We are on duty." He reminded him. The Hustler just shrugged.

"There's nothing to worry about. It's not like I've gotten my ass handed to me by a bunch of children on numerous occasions." The Hustler responded. "If I were you, I'd be less worried about what I'm doing, and more worried about my own future."

The Captain just growled in anger hearing this. It was a concern for him, he was under no illusions that his superiors' patience with his recent failures had all but worn out. He had already been demoted, a humiliation in and of itself. The only way he could convince them that he still deserved any place in their new order was to prove that these children were not more than a match for him. If he delivered them to his superiors himself, no one would dare to question his ability again.

"Sir, we have an incoming communication." One of his attendants told him. "We have a confirmed sighting, the Rangers are in Rio...and they're not alone."

"Give that to me." The Captain stated, taking the communicator from him. "I suggest you speak quickly. Patience is not one of my virtues."

Back in Rio, the Rangers followed the stranger into a warehouse. Now that they were off the streets, they could finally get some answers. As they got inside, Jake closed the door behind them.

"Make yourselves at home." The stranger told them. "Nobody comes here, you're perfectly safe here."

"Like we've never heard that before." Troy responded sarcastically. "Alright, who are you?"

"I told you..."

"All you said was you were a friend." Troy reminded him. "All of my friends have names."

"Yeah, who are you?" Jake called out. "Were you a Ranger? Where are the keys?"

"So little trust." The stranger chuckled. "Are all you Rangers so quick to judge? I thought most of the teams worked together at one time or another."

"Us Rangers?" Gia stated, catching onto what he had just said. "You aren't a Ranger?"

"No, no I'm not." He said with a smirk. "But you...all of you are. And you are worth one hell of a lot of money."

With that, they heard some locks activating, and saw about a dozen men coming out of hiding. Gia just rolled her eyes.

"Great, I guess it was only a matter of time before someone tried to collect." She grumbled.

"Hello, we're the good guys?" Jake remarked. "We're the ones trying to get RID of the aliens that came and wrecked everything!" Jake stated. The stranger just laughed.

"Really, do you think I care about that?" He asked them. "The Armada don't give a crap about our operation. They don't care about our crimes. We've been dodging the cops for years; the invasion hasn't hurt our business one bit."

"Of course, that reward will net us a whole lot of cash. Cash we need to buy the muscle we need to get rid of our rivals." One of the others stated, resting a baseball bat across his shoulders. "And I'm sure the aliens will give us a real wide berth if we give them the Rangers that are causing them all this trouble."

"Do you really think they're just going to pack up and go once they have what they want?" Emma asked them. "I know it's a lot of money, but once they have us..."

"Once we have that reward, we really don't care what they do, as long as we get to stay in business." The leader announced. "Now, how about you hand over those morphers?"

"You can always try and take them from us." Troy told him. "I just hope your health insurance is paid up."

"Oh, you didn't really think we'd try and take you on by ourselves did you?" He chuckled. "OK, we might be crooks, but we're not suicidal. We wouldn't do this if we didn't have...back-up."

Just then, a crate next to them was reduced to splinters, and the Rangers turned to see a new arrival. They were astounded to see the Green Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger walk into view.

"OK, how...?" Troy started to say, before they heard a loud crash, and all ducked just as a crate flew through the air, almost hitting them and smashing more crates behind them. They saw the Quantum Ranger stepping into view. Next to him, they could see the White Dino Thunder Ranger. They started to back up, only to find themselves bumping into someone. Turning around, they saw the Gold Zeo Ranger and the Mercury Ranger, standing with their arms crossed.

"This can't be happening." Gia stammered. "How did you do this?"

"It turns out you're not the only ones that can use those little keys you're looking for." He told them. "Now, you can hand over those keys voluntarily...or our friends here can take them from you."

"Guess which option we're choosing." Troy announced as the team morphed, ready for battle. The Stranger just shook his head.

"Your funeral." He replied as the past Rangers rushed to the attack. He took out a cell phone and dialled it, opening up a line. "Hello, I'd like to speak to The Captain. Tell him it's urgent."

On his ship, The Captain's communicator sounded.

"This better be important for your sake!" The Captain called a warning across the line.

"That's no way to greet someone who's about to give you the Rangers." The Stranger announced. "We've got them here. Home in on this cell phone."

"If this is a hoax..."

"Do you hear that battle in the background?" He chuckled. "Just be sure to bring the money. In the next few minutes, the Rangers will be nicely gift-wrapped, ready for collection."

"Don't worry, if you have what I want, you'll get your reward." The Captain said gleefully as he cut off the communications link. The Hustler just yawned.

"You need some human nobody to do your dirty work for you?" He asked. "That's impressive."

"No one will care how I hand over the Rangers, only that I hand them over." The Commodore assured him. Soon, I'll get my revenge."

"I thought you were handing them in." The Hustler commented.

"Oh, I'll hand them in." The Captain said with a sick smile. "Of course, since they are wanted 'Dead or Alive', no one said what CONDITION they had to be in when I did."

Back in the warehouse, the battle was not going well. The Megaforce team had been caught completely flat-footed by the unexpected arrival of the past Rangers. Jake was cut down by a blow from the Dragon Dagger, landing in the middle of the warehouse. Gia, Emma and Noah were already on the ground.

"I am so over this!" Gia complained. "How did anyone use the Ranger keys without a morpher?"

"These guys are way too good to just be some street punks." Noah commented. "Do you think they could actually be Rangers?"

Troy was sent flipping through the air, his sword skittering away along the floor as he landed in a heap, the Gold Ranger having smashed him aside with his staff. The White Dino Ranger brought up his Drago Sword, creating a bunch of energy arrows, which he then unleashed in the Rangers' direction. They were all sent scattering by the explosion, de-morphing as they landed.

Troy was pulled roughly to his feet, and held tightly by the Gold Ranger, while Gia and Jake were grabbed by the White and Green Rangers respectively. They had their morphers ripped from their hands, and thrown to The Stranger.

As the Mercury Ranger and Quantum Ranger made their way to collect Emma and Jake, advancing on them as they tried to back away, finding themselves blocked by the locked door, Jake looked up to The Stranger.

"You may as well give up." He told them. "Your team mates are already captured. You can't get away."

Emma furrowed her brows as they watched the other Rangers advancing. She looked to Jake.

"Jake...do you hear that?" She asked him. He nodded.

"It sounds a lot like..." His eyes shot wide open. "HIT THE DECK!"

They both threw themselves aside as a large, blue truck smashed through the wall of the warehouse, ramming the Quantum and Mercury Rangers, sending them flying. The vehicle fired off a couple of energy blasts, keeping the others pinned in place as the doors flew open. In the driver's seat was a guy with dark, spiky hair, and numerous tattoos running the length of his arms.

"GET IN!" He yelled at them.

"But..."

"We can't help your team if you're dead!" He protested. "Get in!"

"Do it!" Troy yelled at them. "You can come back for us!"

Emma and Jake reluctantly threw themselves into the back of the truck. The doors slammed shut, at which the driver gunned the engine in reverse, flying out into the street, scattering traffic to a chorus of horns. He blasted along the road at great speed as the Past Rangers came out of the factory, firing blasts after him which rebounded off the vehicle.

"OK, not that I'm not grateful, but who are you?" Emma asked him.

"I'm the guy you were MEANT to meet up with!" He answered. "My name's Justin Stewart, former Blue Turbo Ranger. This is Storm Blaster."

"Where are we going?" Emma asked him. Justin looked to her as Storm Blaster took over, driving itself.

"We're going somewhere to figure out how to sort out this mess." Justin told them. "Welcome to Rio."


	15. Justin's Mission

One of the thugs was standing over Gia, making sure her bonds were nice and tight. She rolled her eyes as he ran his hands over her, making sure the chains they had used to restrain her were secure, taking more than a little too long to do so, and being just a little too thorough with his check.

"Hey, there are no chains there." Gia snapped. The scumbag just grinned at her, before shoving her back down to the floor next to Troy and Noah, who were being guarded by the Gold Zeo Ranger and the Mercury Ranger. Each of them had their hands pulled behind their backs, crossed at the wrists, and wrapped tightly in chains, before being padlocked in place. More chains had been wrapped around their chests, pinning their upper arms to their sides, and padlocked in place. Noah just looked to her.

"You should be flattered at all the attention." He whispered to her. Gia just rolled her eyes.

"Noah, do you really have to crack jokes?" She muttered. "I can't believe we were suckered in like that."

"Hey!" Troy called out as he looked to the leader, flanked by the White Dino Ranger and the Mighty Morphin' Green Ranger. The gang leader was on the phone, and was smiling as he talked in Portuguese, likely to prevent the Rangers from hearing exactly what he intended to do now that he had three of them. "Let us go, or when our friends come back, you're really going to regret it."

"Let's see, five of these guys, only two of yours left...I think I'll take my chances." He responded, gesturing to the Rangers standing beside them.

"Hey, check it out!" One of the other gang members called out, opening Noah's morpher. He placed the key in it, turning it and morphing into the Green Ranger. "Look at me, I'm the Green Ranger!"

He started pulling poses, and flailing his arms and legs around, no doubt trying to look like he was fighting, but he ended up making it look more like he was having some kind of fit. The others just laughed as he mocked the Rangers. Troy noticed a marked difference between him and the other Rangers, standing at their posts, watching the prisoners attentively. The guy in the Green Ranger outfit meanwhile was flailing around like an idiot, now swinging around the cutlass in a manic display that was bound to end in disaster if the others didn't stop encouraging him with their laughter.

"So who's in the other suits?" Troy asked him. The leader just looked to him. "They seem more...disciplined...than your guy."

"Honestly, I don't know." The leader responded with a shrug.

"Wait, so you mean five Power Rangers just turned up on your doorstep and offered to help you capture the only team left?" Noah asked in response. He looked to the Mercury Ranger. "How did you guys even use the keys anyway?"

"I wouldn't bother asking, they don't talk much." The gang leader informed him. He furrowed his brows as he looked to the Green Mighty Morphin' Ranger. "They don't talk at all actually; it's kind of creepy if I'm honest."

"If they don't talk, then how did you hire them?" Troy asked.

"I didn't. Some guy just called me and said he could lend me some muscle." The gang leader informed him. "Next thing I know these guys turned up."

"Someone lent you a team of Power Rangers?" Troy asked. The gang leader just nodded.

"Before you ask, I don't know who, I never met the guy in person. He just calls me when he wants to talk." He answered honestly. "He said he knew you were coming here. We know the streets around here, he said all we had to do is lead you into an ambush and these guys would do the rest."

"Do you really think someone would just lend you a team of Power Rangers and not expect anything back?" Gia asked him sceptically. "You're a two-bit nobody..."

"Since The Armada showed up, we've risen to become one of the biggest gangs in the city!" He interrupted her. "With the money we'll get for you, we'll be able to bury our competition!"

"Wait, you really think the guy that lent you these guys is going to let you keep that money?" Gia asked him. "They gave us a run for our money, what chance do you think you have if they turn on you?"

"The guy that lent them to us isn't interested in the reward. That was part of the deal." The gang leader told them. "He told us we'd get to hand you over to The Armada and claim the reward, all he wanted was these."

He held up the remaining two morphers and Ranger keys. The Rangers didn't carry the other Ranger keys on them by habit; they kept them in a chest in the Galleon, which was somehow connected to their belt buckles. They could summon the keys from the Galleon to their belt buckles when they needed them in the field. The only saving grace was that these gang members didn't seem to know that, and so only had the keys the Rangers had on them.

"He told us he'd be along to collect after we hand you over to The Armada. He said he doesn't want to get involved with them. We get the reward for you, and he pays us to give him these." The gang leader continued. "Fifteen mil for you guys and another five for the hand-off. That money will buy us enough money to make the whole city our exclusive property."

"Well, it seems you have everything sewn up then." Troy stated. "Of course, there is one small matter. You're two Rangers short."

The gang leader was about to say something, but was suddenly startled by a blast that fired overhead, taking a chunk out of the wall. The laughter stopped, and the Past Rangers all scrambled, drawing weapons ready for battle, looking for where the attack was coming. As the gang leader looked around, his eyes came to rest on the guy in the Green Ranger outfit, who was holding a smoking blaster. He had still been messing around for the amusement of his comrades, but it seemed he hadn't taken into account that he was holding very real, very dangerous weapons.

"You IDIOT!" He screamed.

"Um...sorry boss..."

"Are you trying to kill someone?" He yelled. "Give that back!"

The gang member de-morphed, and handed the morpher and Ranger Key over reluctantly.

"The three of you just sit tight." The gang leader told them. "That was The Captain on the phone to discuss the details of your handover. He wants to make sure it's nice and showy. He'll be in town in a couple of hours."

"Great, I can't wait." Gia said sarcastically as he started to walk away. He smiled.

"Guys, check their bonds again." He told them. His men started to enthusiastically make their way towards the Rangers. "We wouldn't want them to try and escape now would we?"

"Think they know you're gay?" Noah asked Gia as she let out a sigh.

"I doubt they care." She replied as she was hauled to her feet.

In another part of the city, Justin drove Storm Blaster into a parking complex underneath an office building. As he opened the door, several guys around is age came flocking round him. He started to speak rapidly in Portuguese, giving out orders to them. They quickly ran off at his command.

"I guess these guys work for you." Jake commented as he and Emma got out of the truck. Justin just nodded. "So...you're a Power Ranger?"

"Not anymore, but I was at one time." He informed them. "I was the Blue Turbo Ranger."

"Wait...that can't be right." Jake stated, thinking about the information the Rangers had gathered. Once they realised they had to gather the other Ranger keys, they started to research other teams, to gather as much information as they could on them. They were starting to get pretty knowledgeable about them. "That can't be right, they were years ago."

"Yeah, what were you, like ten?" Emma asked him.

"Twelve actually." He corrected her. "It turns out the suits can change certain physical attributes."

He led them through the complex, through a door into a room, which was lined with computers.

"Dad got a job down here after the rest of my team went into space." Justin explained. "I decided to stay with him, and came down here with him. He became the majority shareholder a few years back. Since the invasion, I've been using some of his tech to keep the street gangs in check while being as much of a pain in the ass for The Armada as I can."

"So, who are all these guys?" Jake asked, gesturing around. Justin smiled.

"Some of them are employees of dad's company that we can trust to keep our little side-line to themselves." Justin informed them. "Others are people who lost their homes in the invasion, and the subsequent restructuring of the gang territories. They help out, keeping an eye on communications and suchlike. Me and a few others handle work in the streets, but I make sure I take all the risks. There's not much they can throw at us that Storm Blaster can't handle."

"And...these?" Emma asked, pointing to some crates marked as ammunition.

"That...is for pretty much everything else." He told them. "Anything we take off the other gangs, we keep off the streets down here. Of course, sometimes we need a little firepower ourselves. Storm Blaster can't be everywhere."

"This is all great and all, but...we do need to get our friends back." Jake reminded him.

"I've got my friends working on that." Justin told them. "Those past Rangers were a surprise, even to me. I had every intention of just busting all of you out, but with those guys there...we kind of have a problem."

"You're telling me." Emma agreed. "It was tough enough when there were five of us. Now there are only two of us..."

"Don't worry; we'll get your friends back." Justin assured them. "We just need to be a little smart about it. We do only have two working morphers."

"Well, I'm not without a few surprised myself." Justin assured them as someone came over to him, saying something that they couldn't understand.

"OK, my Portuguese is non-existent." Jake told them. "What's he saying?"

"They're monitoring cell signals from around the area of the warehouse." He informed them. "It isn't good news I'm afraid."

"Well...what is it?" Jake asked him. "Tell us!"

"There were two incoming calls; the first one was from The Captain." He informed them. "He's arranged a time and place for the handover. He wants to make it a big spectacle, lots of news crews and the like, so he's told them to meet him at the foot of Christ the Redeemer in an hour."

"That's not good." Jake commented. "Last time he had us in chains on national television we nearly lost our heads."

"I doubt he's going to be that nice this time." Emma answered. "What about the other call?"

"Well, one of the calls going in was from a burn phone. I don't know who it's from, but they said something about picking up your friend's morphers and keys." He informed them. "He's meeting them at the warehouse while the broadcast is going ahead."

"So, they're picking up the morphers and keys separately?" Jake asked. "Why?"

"Maybe it isn't The Armada." Justin surmised. "Maybe someone's trying to snatch the power from under their noses."

"Great, now we have to hit two locations." Jake grumbled.

"Actually, this might be the first bit of good news we've had all day." Justin answered with a smile. "If they're forced to split up, we might be able to catch THEM flat-footed for once."

"So, what do we do?" Emma asked him.

"For now, we continue to listen in, wait for them to split up." He informed them. "Hitting them too soon will just mean we have to face those Rangers again."

He held out his hand.

"If you lend me a morpher, I can have my guys tune into their signal." He told them. "It'll mean we can track their location. We'll know when they move."

Emma and Jake looked a little reluctant to go ahead with this plan. Right now, they only had two working morphers. Handing over one of them and halving their arsenal seemed like a pretty bad move. Justin just looked to them.

"Look, I lost my powers twice now. Once when Divatox destroyed the Command Centre and again when The Armada came." He told them. "I know you don't want to hand over the morpher, but I promise I'll give it back."

Emma was still uncertain about this plan. She couldn't help feeling exposed, knowing that they were surrounded by Justin's entourage. What if he just wanted to take the powers back himself? After all, he was a Ranger before they were; he was a lot more experienced than they were. Part of her thought maybe he'd have every reason to think he could do a better job than they could. Jake was hesitant too, and could see that Emma wasn't going to make the first move.

"Believe me, as much as I would love to have my powers back, I'd never take them from another Ranger, not if they didn't volunteer to give them up." Justin declared. "It's kind of like the Marines, Semper Fidelius; being a Ranger isn't something you just give up when you're no longer in the Spandex. Once a Ranger, always a Ranger. I'll always help an active team, not steal from them."

Jake stepped forward, offering him his morpher.

"I'm trusting you." Jake told him. "Don't make me regret it."

"Get this to dad." Justin told one of his guys, handing over the morpher. "Alright, come with me. We'll get you cleaned up. Then we'll discuss what you're really here for."

"What we're here for?" Emma asked him. Justin just showed them the Turbo Ranger keys.

"These appeared in Storm Blaster's glove compartment after the invasion." He informed them. "I figured you'd be here for them eventually."

"So...why didn't you mention them before?" Emma asked him. "Why did you make us hand over a morpher first?"

"Hey, I know I'm in the Ranger family heart and soul. I just needed to be sure you were." He replied, looking to one of his assistants. "Get them something to eat and treat their injuries, we have some time to kill."

Back at the warehouse, the gang leader returned, hanging up his cell phone as he did. Troy, Noah and Gia just looked up at him.

"Please, you've got to think about this." Troy told him. "How can you trust The Captain to pay up? How can you trust this guy that wants our keys? You're way out of your depth."

"Really? Because from where I'm standing, it looks like I'm firmly in control." He replied. "I have you three, and I'm sure that troublemaker Stewart will try some kind of rescue. I don't care what his tricked out truck can do; it'll be no match for these guys."

He gestured to the five Past Rangers, who were standing ominously behind him. He gestured to the White Dino Ranger, the Quantum Ranger and the Mercury Ranger.

"You three, grab them and put them in the van." He told them. They grabbed the Rangers, dragging them to the vehicle, and getting in the back with them. He gestured to the remaining two.

"You two stay here with this guy." He told them, shoving the one who had been messing around in Jake's outfit earlier.

"What? Why?" He asked him.

"Because you're a liability! I don't want you fouling anything up!" He told him, pointing to the safe. "If he goes anywhere near that safe, you have my permission to kill him."

He got into the drivers' seat of the van, while others got into cars to accompany the van to the hand-off. The rest of the gang stayed behind to guard the warehouse. As they started on their journey, Troy looked to the others.

"If either of you have any ideas, now would be a good time." He told them.

Meanwhile, back at his headquarters, Justin approached Emma and Jake, pulling on his jacket.

"My guys have reported back, they're on the move." He told them. "Now's the time to go."

"OK, but how are we meant to hit two places at once?" Emma asked him. Justin just smiled.

"You trusted me with one of your toys, now I'll trust you with one of mine." He answered as he led them into the garage. He pulled back a tarpaulin, revealing a bright red sports' car. They marvelled at it. "TJ left this in my care when he went underground. Say hello to Lightning Cruiser."

As he was about to hand Jake back his morpher, Jake held up a hand.

"Keep it for now." He told him. "For old time's sake."

Justin smiled as took the Blue Turbo Ranger key.

"I always love a comeback." He answered.


	16. The Pirates' Escape

**A/N: **OK, couple of things. Firstly, sorry for the hiatus. It was unavoidable, I'm afraid.

Also, just a note to thank Grass King for noticing a slight flub in my continuity. I did say the Rangers found the Green Ranger key in the Dragonzord, but have it being used against them here. As I've said before, I don't mind when people point out genuine mistakes, and thank him for noticing this and bringing it to my attention.

Finally...don't worry, I know the season's starting up again soon, and as of that point my series will be pretty much completely AU. I'm hoping to have this story finished by then, ready to follow the season with my own brand of insanity. Hope you all enjoy it.

Troy, Noah and Gia all sat, staring at their mysterious captors. They could see that the warriors they were facing were three of the previous Rangers, specifically the White Dino Ranger, the Quantum Ranger, and the Mercury Ranger. However, so far they knew nothing else about them. They had no idea who had harnessed those powers, they didn't know how they had done so, they didn't even know who was under the helmets. They just sat, silent as the grave, completely focused on the task they had been assigned, watching the Rangers as they were transported to the rendezvous to be collected by The Captain.

"I never thought I'd see the day." Noah commented. "Power Rangers reduced to being common thugs. Petty muscle for street gangs."

The three Rangers just sat, unmoving. They didn't even change their gaze, each of them keeping their attention on their chosen charges.

"You don't talk. Is that because you have nothing to say? Or are you too ashamed to speak?" Troy asked. Again, they didn't say anything. Gia just looked through the window into the cab.

"How long until we get to the statue?" She asked. "Your lap dogs aren't exactly great company."

"You'll be there soon enough." The gang leader assured her. "Just sit tight. We're just hitting the traffic."

Just then, they heard something outside the van. Troy craned his neck to see what was happening. All they could hear was a high powered engine heading their way.

He looked out the small window in the rear door, seeing a bright red sports car driving up quickly, weaving through the traffic. It was moving far too quickly for ordinary traffic.

"What's going on?" Noah asked him. Troy watched as the car fired laser cannons, causing two of the accompanying vehicles spinning out of control.

"What the hell is going on?" The gang leader called out, checking his mirrors, seeing the other members of his entourage moving to intercept.

"If I was to hazard a guess, I'd say that's the Cavalry." Troy said with a smile. "Do you want to give up now?"

The gang leader just put his foot on the gas as he got on a radio.

"We're only a few miles from the rendezvous." He stated. "Hold them off, whatever you have to do!"

Meanwhile, at the warehouse, the gang members that had been left behind were sitting, with the remaining two Rangers, the Gold Zeo Ranger and the Green Mighty Morphin' Ranger standing by the safe, containing Troy, Noah and Gia's morphers. They were waiting for the strange benefactor to return to deliver payment for the morphers.

"Those guys seriously give me the creeps." One of them remarked.

"Who cares? As long as we get what we want." Another answered. Just then, they all looked confused as an unfamiliar ringtone sounded. They all started to look around, eventually finding a cell phone concealed inside a crate, with a large briefcase alongside it.

"Hello?" One of the gang members answered, switching the phone to speaker so the rest of the gang could hear.

"I see you've found my little gift." The voice stated. It was a familiar voice, the one belonging to the mysterious stranger who had lent them the Rangers. "In that briefcase, you will find three million, a full million more than promised. Take that as a bonus to buy some privacy. Take the briefcase, and leave now."

"There's been a change of plans actually." One of the gang stated. The other end of the line went silent for a moment.

"Oh, and what prey tell has changed?" He asked.

"We want to renegotiate terms." He replied. "The way we figure it, we're the ones that have taken all the risks. You just lent us these guys, as far as we can see, you're just sitting back waiting on a payday."

"I am offering you a million more than agreed, in addition to allowing you to keep the reward for the Rangers." He reminded them. "Now, I know you are two Rangers short..."

"How do you know that?" The gang member asked, starting to look around. The others did the same, realising that they were likely being watched.

"It is not my fault you allowed four point seven five million walk out the door." He told them. "Now, fulfil your end of the bargain, and the extra million is yours."

"We don't want your money anymore!" The gang member told him. "The way we see it, that's chump change compared to what we'll earn once we have control of the city."

"So what do you want instead?" The voice asked. He just smiled.

"We want your Rangers." He answered. "With that kind of muscle..."

"I'm afraid..."

"We all know you have to have more power than that behind you! No one would be stupid enough to give away all their power." He interrupted the voice. "You leave us these five, and the morphers are yours."

"I see you've thought about this quite a bit." The voice answered. "I guess then, I have no choice."

With that, they all heard what sounded a lot like a trumpet playing. They looked confused for a moment, until one of their number flew through the air, landing in a heap to the sound of numerous bones breaking. As they snapped around, they saw the Green Ranger snapping another's neck with his bare hands.

They all started to panic, and tried to run as they realised they were hopelessly outmatched. Storm Blaster smashed through one of the walls, and ran into the Gold Ranger, sending him flying as the Blue Turbo Ranger leapt out of the door, rolling to his feet.

"Get out of here!" Justin yelled at the gang members, rushing towards the Green Ranger, firing his Turbo Hand Blasters. Sparks flew as he rushed at the former Ranger, attacking him with all he had. He quickly found himself being thrown across the room, landing in a heap. "Well, it looks like you've got the moves...Storm Blaster; keep the other one off me!"

Back on the highway, Jake had the wheel of Storm Blaster, as Emma morphed into the Pink Turbo Ranger in the passenger seat. She leaned out of the side window, firing her turbo bow, sending it spinning across lanes of traffic as the tyre exploded.

"That's almost all of them." Jake told her. "Now we just have to stop that van."

"We can't attack the van." She called out. "We could hurt the others!"

"Whoa, what gives?" Jake asked as the wheel suddenly wrenched itself out of his grip. Lightning Cruiser took over, racing up alongside the van, just behind the corner. It moved in sharply, pulling a PIT manoeuvre, controlling the van's spin as it forced it towards the barrier.

"Well that works for me!" Emma called out as the van was forced against the rail, metal grating against metal as it slowed to a stop. Emma leapt out of the vehicle, rushing around to the back. She was blasted backwards as the doors flew open and the three Rangers came out, rushing towards her.

"I'm going for the driver." Jake yelled as he got out of Lightning Cruiser. "He's probably got the key!"

Emma knew that she was in trouble. Having fought the Past Rangers once before, she knew that one of them was a tough opponent. Facing three of them was a daunting task to say the least. As Lightning Cruiser reversed quickly, sideswiping the White Dino Ranger and the Quantum Ranger, she concentrated on the Mercury Ranger.

"I really hope you hurry up with those keys Justin." She commented, gripping her Turbo Bow tightly.

Back at the Warehouse, Justin was having a tough battle of his own. While Storm Blaster was keeping the Gold Ranger off him, the Green Ranger appeared to be every bit as strong as he'd heard. He had served on a team with Tommy, but he had sparred against him on many occasions. It seemed that whoever was in the costume was every bit as good as he remembered Tommy being, but without the extra years. Justin was not exactly old, if anything, he was more or less in his prime, the one main benefit of having been so young during his tenure.

As he ducked an attack, he caught a boot straight to the face, before a spin kick sent him to the floor. Whoever was in the suit was good...he was better than just good. As much as he didn't usually brag, Justin was at one time active on the tournament circuit. He had been considered one of the top fifty martial artists on the planet at one time.

It was then that he noticed something about the Dragon Ranger that puzzled him. He saw the way he was standing, facing him. More than just a martial artist, Justin was a child prodigy, with an IQ that had at one time been scored into the 170 range...a distinction that had been reserved for some figures like Da Vinci or Newton...his mind was incredibly analytical, something that had served him well back in the day. He noticed small details, even among things that looked like they should be identical. As much as any martial artist was taught the same way by the same sensei, individual differences did creep in, based on particular strengths, hand preference, foot preference, balance, injuries...his stance was unmistakable. It was Tommy's...right down to the placement of his hands.

He knew, however, that was impossible. Tommy was in Reefside, now the headmaster of Reefside High. He had called him as recently as last month, and knew Tommy was active with the underground of former Rangers, moving to help the current team in the absence of powers.

He saw the shift in stance as the Green Ranger paced around, and noticed something else. Although almost indistinguishable to anyone else, his step was a little different. Tommy had suffered a bad ankle break between his White Ranger days and his Red Turbo Ranger days, and he had a habit of favouring his right ankle. This Ranger though didn't. It was like Tommy...only a young Tommy...a sixteen year old Tommy. It didn't just have skill equivalent to a young Tommy, it was like it WAS a young Tommy. He smiled.

"Alright, let's do this!" He called, gesturing the Green Ranger forward. The Green Ranger attacked him, and Justin knew his analysis had hit pay dirt. It was like Tommy, but a very technically grounded Tommy. It was how he fought back when he was still used mainly to fighting in tournaments and practice, before he had all those years of battlefield experience, years of facing anyone that didn't fight in a similar style. Justin caught one of his kicks, and powered him to the ground, before blasting him at point-blank range.

"Tommy always led with his left." He told the clone, before hitting it with a full-power blast at point-blank range. The Green Ranger disappeared in a flash of light. Justin's vision cleared just in time to see that he was gone...leaving only a Ranger Key where he had once been. He picked it up, looking round just in time to see Storm Blaster finishing off the Gold Ranger, leaving him as just a key.

"There's no one in the suits?" He asked himself. He collected the two keys, before turning his attention to the safe. He punched it, tearing the door off, seeing the three morphers and keys inside. He picked them up, before getting on his communicator.

"Emma, it's Justin, I've got the morphers!" He told her. "The Rangers...there's no one in the suits!"

"What?" She yelled in response.

"It's like they're...some kind of...manifestation of the people that used to wear the suits." He explained. "It has the moves and skills of the last Ranger to use those powers, but there's no one in the suits! There's no one in there to hurt, don't hold back! I'll be there as soon as I can!"

With that, he leapt into Storm Blaster, and turned it around, screeching out of the warehouse, hoping that he would return to the others in time.

Back on the freeway, Emma had taken Justin's words to heart. Lightning Cruiser was helping her where it could, keeping it as much as possible a one on one fight, but even then it was tough. She was struggling as the Mercury Ranger kept her pinned to the barrier. She managed to push him back far enough to place her foot on his abdomen. As she pushed out as hard as she could, she sent it back into lanes of traffic, where a car slammed into him at speed, sending him high into the air. He disappeared in a flash of light as he did.

Lightning Cruiser had blasted the White Dino Ranger, and Emma looked down as his key came skittering across the tarmac towards her. She turned, seeing the Quantum Ranger was the only one left.

With the power in her Turbo Key running low, she opted for a change, converting back to her own powers. She parried the Quantum Defender's blast with her cutlass as she flicked the White Ranger key up with her foot. She inserted it into her pistol, while putting her own key in the cutlass.

Powering up her final attack, she fired the pistol, backing it up with an energy wave from her cutlass. The blast destroyed the Quantum Ranger, shortly before Emma fell to her knees. Troy, Noah, Jake and Gia ran to her side.

"Emma, are you alright?" Gia asked her. Emma just nodded wearily.

"Piece of cake." She answered in an exhausted tone. "The gang leader?"

"He coughed up the key." Jake told her. "It turns out; he's not so brave when he's not got any back-up. Being one of the world's most wanted probably helped."

"You did great Emma." Troy said, putting his arm around his girlfriend as she de-morphed.

Before long, they heard another engine, turning in time to see Storm Blaster arriving. Justin came towards them, de-morphing.

"I guess the intended rescue is a little late." He commented, holding up their morphers. "Here, I guess you want these back."

As he handed them over, he also handed over the Turbo Keys. He looked to them, presenting the Turbo Keys to them.

"As I promised, here they are." He told them, before producing two more. "And as a little bonus...I've got these."

"Well, we have another three here." Jake answered. "Um...as soon as we find them of course."

"I've got one here." Gia stated, showing them the Quantum Ranger key. "The other one will be somewhere over there...that's where the guy went when Emma shoved him in front of a car."

"I'll find it." Noah called out, taking his morpher, and using it to begin tracking the faint power signature the Ranger keys gave off. Justin looked to the others.

"Well, you've got the keys, and a nice little bonus into the bargain." He told them. "I guess you'll be going..."

"Not yet." Troy interrupted him. They all just looked at him.

"Troy, The Captain will be at the statue any minute." Justin reminded him. "He's coming expecting to collect you. He'll have a whole battalion! If you're still here..."

"If we leave now, do you really think he'll take that battalion and just leave?" Troy asked him. "He's not going to be happy, and he'll be looking to make an example out of someone! If we're not here, then who do you think he'll choose?"

"Troy, your team is our only shot." Justin told him. "You need to go..."

"I'm not going to leave, knowing that he's probably going to hold the city responsible for our escape." Troy told him. "We know where he'll be. He's looking to make an example of us; I say we give him what he wants."

"But Troy..."

"The people of this city need you. You should go back to your base." Gia told him. "Troy's right though. We need to make a stand and we need to do it now. If we don't make an example of him, then they'll just hold any city we visit to ransom."

"We're a menace to society right?" Jake asked with a smile. "I say we show The Armada how much of a menace we can be all on our own!"

"Alright guys, let's move out." Troy announced, getting his morpher ready to call in the Galleon. "The Captain wanted to put on a show, let's not disappoint him."


	17. So Long Captain

The Captain's ship was hovering ominously over Christ the Redeemer. The journey had taken longer than he intended. The destroyer ship he had been given was a lot slower than his original transport ship. The press had been gathered before the landmark, under the promise of seeing the Rangers brought under the heel of The Armada at his hand. Dozens of brutes, and a full battalion of X-bots were lined up by the statue in a show of strength, while The Hustler stood, playing with his deck of cards, looking more than a little bored. The Captain was pacing regally, looking out over his crowd. His contact was already late delivering the Rangers, something he was painfully aware of, but he was determined to proceed. This was his way back into the good graces of his employers

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the world, have we not been good to you?" He asked as he looked out into the crowd. "We provided labour and materials to rebuild your world. We assist your law enforcement, and we seek only a peaceful existence while we work towards our ends. We have already rebuilt far more of your world than you could have on your own, and how are we repaid? We are attacked without cause by criminals, PIRATES!"

The press started to clamour with interest, numerous reporters already looking like they had questions. No doubt many of them wanted to know when the Rangers would be arriving. He just looked out, throwing his hands out for emphasis.

"We do not blame you for the actions of these misguided souls. They say power corrupts, and indeed it does. Because they have power, they believe they act in your best interests, and yet look at the destruction left in their wake." He continued. "We seek no destruction, we do not want to see any more lives ruined, we only wish to continue our work in peace, and yet not only are we besieged on all sides by these Rangers, but there are some of your number that would seek to aid them in their path of carnage. I am grateful, however, that your city has some responsible citizens. Some who have put themselves at risk to bring these criminals to justice!"

"They did put themselves at risk." He heard a loud voice declare. They all turned and looked up to see the Red Galleon coming over the horizon. Troy was standing on the bow with a loudhailer in his hand. The Captain just growled. "I heard you were expecting us! We'd hate to disappoint!"

"Open Fire!" He called out. Troy and the other Rangers leapt off the ship, morphing as they fell towards the earth, landing among The Captain's troops, attacking them in a frenzy.

"Tensou, make sure that ship doesn't fire!" Troy ordered him.

"There's radioactive material on board!" Tensou informed him. "Scanners indicate they have a nuclear payload."

"Then target their weapon's bays." Troy instructed him as he cut down a brute. "Either way, make sure they don't fire on the crowd. Try not to damage the statue either, it's an important landmark!"

"You, what are you being paid for?" The Captain yelled at The Hustler. "Get in there and start fighting!"

The Hustler took one of his cards, and threw it at Noah. Seeing it coming, the Blue Ranger swung his sword for it, only to be thrown backwards by an explosion. The Rangers all gathered around him.

"It looks like this latest monster thinks he's Gambit." Noah muttered as he was helped up by Jake. "I'll be alright."

"He doesn't look so tough." Gia stated. Troy saw The Captain a little way off and gestured to the others.

"You four deal with this guy." He instructed them as he started to make his way over, gunning down a couple of x-bots on the way. "You want me so badly? Then have the courage to face me yourself you coward!"

"Nothing would give me greater pleasure." The Captain answered, pulling out his own pistol and cutlass, rushing towards Troy. The two fired off shots as they advanced, before their swords rang out as they clashed. The remaining four meanwhile turned their attention to The Hustler and the remaining robots.

"You want to 'deal' with me?" The Hustler asked them, beginning to throw out more exploding cards. As they scattered, trying to lead them away from the reporters, Jake looked to Gia.

"Are these guys like contractually obligated to make bad puns?" He asked her.

"I usually think they're part of their arsenal." She responded. "If they make our ears bleed with bad jokes, we won't concentrate on the battle."

"I've got an idea." Emma called out from cover, ducking as stone chips flew past her head. "It requires changing things up a little though."

"I'm up for anything." Jake admitted.

"Any and all suggestions are welcome." Noah responded. "Presuming he's got a full deck, that guy has about another forty of those attacks!"

"Noah, lend Jake your pistol, Jake, give Noah your sword." Emma explained, throwing her sword across to where Gia was dealing with some x-bots between attacks. "Gia, lend me your pistol!"

Gia just looked to her pistol, before throwing it across. Emma snatched it up.

"Alright, Jake, you help me to provide covering fire! Noah and Gia can finish him off when they get up close! He can't throw exploding cards when they're right in his face!"

"That's a great idea Emma!" Gia responded as she gripped up her second sword. "You ready for this Noah?"

"Ready when they are!" He answered.

Over at the other side of the battlefield, Troy and The Captain were giving each other everything they had. Troy had already faced The Captain a couple of times before, and was well aware of the fact he was a powerful enemy, but he was not unbeatable. He was a proud, and arrogant warrior who was more concerned in his image than he was about the danger his opponents presented. Troy slashed across his chest, leaving his coat hanging loosely.

"It looks like another demotion is in your future." Troy taunted him. The Captain grabbed his coat, tearing it off in anger and throwing it aside. Troy noticed it hit the ground a lot harder than he expected, and left an imprint in the ground.

"This will be the last time we face each other." The Captain told him, allowing his hair down, letting it flow free. "I may as well face you at full power!"

"Weighted clothing?" Troy asked him. The Captain just nodded, before rushing Troy, moving far faster than he normally did. Troy managed to parry the strike, but was sent skidding backwards by the blow. Whatever his clothing was made of, it was clear that he used a lot of strength just moving around with it on. It was like when he wore training weights when he went for a run, by making his body weigh more, it meant his muscles worked harder just to accommodate for the extra weight. Without it, it meant he had much more strength to exert on the battle.

"You've humiliated me for the last time Red Ranger!" He yelled at him. "I was willing to simply execute you, but now...now I will really make you suffer!"

Troy prepared for another attack, shifting around to keep The Captain in view. If The Captain was determined that this would be the last time they fought, he was more than willing to make that the case.

After dealing with the last of the robots, the Rangers took cover once more. The Hustler chuckled to see them hiding.

"You do realise you took out as many of your own mooks as we did right?" Jake called out. "Those explosions..."

"To gamble you have to sacrifice." He interrupted Jake, throwing more cards. Noah hefted up his swords as he looked to Gia.

"Unless my count is wrong, he has 26 cards left." He informed her. "Presuming he had a full deck."

"Alright Emma, Jake...do it NOW!" Gia called out. Emma and Jake both got up, firing a salvo of shots from their pistols, staggering him. Both Gia and Noah took this opportunity to break cover, running towards him. Seeing him charging up more cards, Gia went a little faster, rushing ahead of Noah.

"Noah, power them up!" She told him, beginning to swing her swords as he threw charged cards. She let them out on cables, swinging them in an intricate pattern, batting the cards away where they exploded all around them. Noah placed a Ranger key in each of his swords as he followed her. "Do it NOW!"

She pulled aside, letting Noah rush forward with powered up blades, slicing through him. The Hustler screamed in pain as he started to spark ominously. Gia placed a Ranger key in each of her swords and followed suit, also slicing into him. "Emma, Jake, get in on this would you?"

Emma and Jake looked to each other, before placing Ranger keys into their pistols and standing up from cover. They send forth blasts that lit up the sky. The Hustler exploded in a huge fireball.

They turned to see Troy rolling clear as The Captain powered up his blade. They were about to intervene, but they saw Troy holding up a hand.

"This is a duel!" Troy told them. "I'm not going to sink to their level!"

"We're here if you need us." Jake answered. "Don't worry."

Troy watched, waiting for The Captain's attack. As he raised his sword overhead, Troy rushed forward, sliding a Ranger key into his sword. He fired off his pistol, shattering The Captain's sword as he brought it down, before plunging his own sword into The Captain's chest. They all watched as the blade powered up, and could smell burning as the power started to burn The Captain. Far from screaming however, he just glared at Troy hatefully.

"It's over!" Troy told him, pulling it out as sparks started to fly. He watched as The Captain fell to his knees. He put a Ranger Key into his pistol and aimed it for his head. "You spent your life seeking fights, and everyone who does that ends up the same way. Sooner or later, they end up running into someone better than them."

"No one is better than me!" The Captain snarled, pulling out a communicator. "Fire on the city!"

"We can't sir!" The answer came back. "All the weapons ports are damaged. We can't fire!"

Realising that his end was near, The Captain just looked to Troy, spreading his arms in anticipation of his shot.

"Go ahead then." He told him. "You earned it!"

As Troy was about to pull the trigger though, The Captain knocked the pistol aside, sending the shot wide. He lunged across the field, throwing himself on the remains of The Hustler as a beam came down from the sky. The Rangers all watched as he was hit full on by the beam and started to grow.

"Great, as if it wasn't bad enough when he was normal sized." Gia grumbled.

"He totally screwed over his own guy." Noah commented. "That second chance was meant to be for the other guy."

"I guess he was too proud to call it quits after all." Troy answered as the Megazord formed. They all leapt aboard, facing off against him as he got his newly repaired sword ready for the fight.

"You insignificant children! How dare you stand in my way?" He yelled. "I have held an elite position within my Lord's court for years! Do you really think you have what it takes to defeat me?"

"I guess we'll find out!" Troy answered as they attacked. The Captain, however, was amazingly fast, even as a giant. His sword smashed into them, sending sparks flying. The Rangers tried to defend themselves, but it wasn't enough.

"We have to defend the statue!" Troy reminded them. "It's not just a landmark; it's a focal point of faith. We can't let him destroy it!"

"I think it's more important we stop him from destroying us!" Jake told him. "This can be rebuilt!"

Just then, Emma noticed something. The Turbo Keys were glowing brightly. She picked up the Pink Turbo Key and inspected it thoughtfully.

"Guys, check it out!" She told them. "The keys...it looks like Justin's releasing their power!"

"I say we go with it." Gia told them.

"Alright, let's see what these keys can do!" Troy answered, sliding his key into the console. They all turned the keys in unison, at which they felt the Megazord powering up. The Captain came for them once more, this time with his sword powered up, ready for the final attack. However, as he came closer, and the Rangers activated their own attack, everything seemed to slow down.

"Is he getting tired or something?" Jake asked. "He's slowing down!"

"I don't think he's slowing down...I think we've speeded up!" Noah told her as the Megazord launched into a deadly Turbo Spin Attack. Even at their increased speed, they took a deadly hit from The Captain, but it wasn't enough to take them down. He paused on the other side, at which he started to spark ominously. He turned to face them.

"You...you defeated me? I was murdered by mere children?" He screamed incredulously. "CHILDREN?"

"If you live by the sword, don't be surprised when you meet a bad end." Troy answered as he pitched forward. The Megazord lunged forward, shoving him roughly away as he fell in the direction of the statue to make sure he didn't damage it. He exploded on the mountainside, heralding his end. The Rangers heard a huge cheer from the ground, and looked to see that several of the reporters were still there.

"What do you know? It looks like we still have some fans in Brazil!" Jake said with a smile.

"It's a shame we can't..."

"We're going down there." Troy told them, getting up from his seat. They all looked at him curiously. "The Captain wanted to send a message; I say we take this opportunity to do so."

The Press all reacted in shock as The Rangers landed before them. Troy and the others all recalled their helmets. Troy looked around, seeing a CNN camera.

"You! Is that camera rolling?" He demanded. The cameraman just nodded at which he went over. He looked straight into the camera, his team assembling behind him with the Megazord behind them. "People of Earth, we are not your enemy. The Armada is."

"The Armada has run us out of our homes, away from the people we love, and brought nothing but destruction which they then want credit for cleaning up!" Gia added. "They even put prices on our heads to try and encourage you to come after us."

"We wish you no ill will. We understand that you're scared." Emma assured the crowd. "We have an important mission, and we're going to see it through to the end, no matter what we have to face."

"You tried to destroy us, to take everything from us, but in doing that, you made us more dangerous than anything you'll ever face." Noah stated. "We've got nowhere to go."

"No one to help." Gia added, knowing that wasn't exactly true, but knowing that The Armada would only pursue anyone that tried to help them openly.

"Nothing to Lose." Jake concluded. Troy pulled closer to the camera and looked directly into it.

"I have one final message to The Armada." He declared with a cold expression. "You'll pull your forces off Earth if you know what's good for you. Today we destroyed your mouthpiece on worldwide television. Anyone else you send will end up the same way."

"What he's saying is," Jake interjected, turning the camera towards himself, "send anyone you want. Just don't anyone you want back. Don't mess with the Power Rangers Corsairs!"

With that, the Rangers all turned to leave. Troy just pulled Jake close.

"You named us?" He asked. Jake just shrugged.

"We have to call ourselves something." He remarked. "What else are we going to call ourselves. Super Megaforce?"

"I guess he has a point." Emma said with a little smirk. "Besides, I guess corsair is a little better than calling ourselves pirates."

"Alright, that's our new name then." Troy answered as they prepared their grappling lines, while the Galleon reformed. "Let's get out of here. These people will need time to clear up the mess."

A couple of hours later, the Rangers assembled in the main deck once they were a safe distance from Brazil. Emma was the last to re-enter the room, folding away her morpher.

"That was Justin. He said the gang that took us got picked up a while back." She informed them. "It won't be long before most of them are back on the streets, but apparently the cops have a lot of outstanding warrants on the worst ones. It'll be a long time before they threaten anyone."

"What about the city?" Jake asked. "We did leave quite a mess."

"It'll be a while before things are back to normal, but apparently public opinion is very Pro-Ranger right now." She assured them. "Defending the statue bought us a lot of support...not to mention one of the cameras caught The Captain ordering his ship to fire on the city."

"I just wish we could have said goodbye in person." Gia commented. "We really didn't get much time to thank him."

"It's alright, he said he got all the thanks he needs getting one last shot in the spandex thanks to Jake." Emma said with a smile. "He said that's what convinced him to release the power. He said that power alone isn't enough. Having the strength to give that power up for the greater good, having something more important to you than the power is what counts. He said that Lightning Cruiser and Storm Blaster are willing to help us."

"But how? They're in Brazil!" Gia asked.

"He said that if we call them, they'll come. It'll probably be like Lionheart." She answered as she sat down.

"Alright, so let's take stock." Noah stated, placing a chest on the table. He opened it up, and placed the keys on the table. "We have the keys for three core teams. The Mighty Morphin' team, the Mystic Force team and the Turbo team."

"We also have five extra keys." Jake reminded them. "The Green Mighty Morphin' key, the Gold Zeo Key, the Quantum Ranger key, the White Dino Thunder key and the Mercury Ranger key."

"So that's three teams, twenty keys down." Gia replied. "But those five extra keys have shown us something. There's someone else out there than knows how to use Ranger keys."

"Yeah, someone can turn Ranger keys into Rangers." Noah recalled. "And we have no idea who it is, or even if they have any other keys."

"I have a feeling we won't have to wait too long before we find out." Troy told them.

"That's all we need, another enemy." Emma sighed.

"Well, whatever happens, I'm sure we'll deal with it. Besides, we won't be dealing with it alone forever." Jake told them, crossing his feet on the table. "Jordan's not going to be in the Library forever."

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Emma asked.

"We proceed as normal." Troy stated. "If there is someone else looking for Ranger keys, then no doubt sooner or later, he's going to come after us."

Meanwhile, elsewhere, a dark figure watched the Galleon flying away. He shook his head.

"You may have escaped this time Rangers, but if you think I'm finished, then you have another think coming." He stated, his hand straying to a chest next to him. "You may have five of my keys, but there are more where they came from."

Fin.

**A/N: **OK, this story was just a set-up for where my version of the new season will start. I'll have a couple of small stories between now and when the new season starts, but the main storyline is on hold for now. I'll make sure I have a quick re-cap before the season starts properly. Thanks to all my loyal readers, and I hope you enjoyed it. You don't need to worry, there'll be more from the Corsairs soon enough.


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